Unexpected Encounters
by Lurker128
Summary: Where was Spider-Man? Rose Evans steps in after his absence. She isn't a hero by any standards, and certainly hasn't been bitten by a radioactive spider; But what happens when an enemy outside this world poses a bigger threat than what she or Spider-Man can handle? What secrets will she uncover about herself? Avengers. Post TASM2. Peter/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of Marvel, or Spider-Man ideas or plots, just my character.**

**Re-edited 02/25/16**

**7:14 AM, Wednesday December 18th, 2013**

"Ugh." I opened my eyes slowly, feeling lethargic in my movements as I turned to my side. The sun's unforgiving rays fell over my vision, rousing me into alert. Pulling my phone from underneath my pillow, I felt the panic rise in my chest when I saw the time. "Shit! _Shit_! Shit!" I jumped out of bed, picked up a pair of dirty jeans off the floor and struggled to pull them on while rushing to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. There was no time to style my hair, I duly noted as I eyed the tangled rat's nest in the mirror.

Grabbing the first shirt I could reach, I pulled it over my head and picked up my bag and paintings before I ran out the door, down the stairs and out the building.

II

"Ms. Evans, you're late."

I smiled guiltily at my collector, Tammy Wilkins as I bustled into the gallery. She was not the friendliest of people but she bought my art, and in retrospect, paid my bills, so I did my best to stay on her good side. "I'm sorry, Tammy—Ms. Wilkins," I corrected myself, trying to be formal in front of the client she had next to her.

Tammy looked at me, nonplussed and turned to the man next to her. "Mr. Henderson, this is Rose Evans. If you overlook her outward appearance, you'll find her pieces to be quite extraordinary as she is the number one supplier to this gallery."

My mouth parted as I stood there mildly offended at her jab before I corrected my posture and tried to pat down my hair. Sure, I wasn't a pretentious snob like most of the people I worked with, but that didn't mean a was a slob either.

Mr. Henderson barked out a loud laugh, catching both of us off guard and I felt my cheeks darken.

"Ms. Evans, no need to be embarrassed. My wife and three daughters are always fashionably late. Must be a redheaded thing, eh?" He winked.

I chuckled in relief at his response. Most potential buyers for my work were always stuffy and lacked any type of humor. "Um, I have three different pieces here." I started the sale, eager to get paid, and placed the work on the table. There were a few moments of silence as he observed my work and I bit my lip, hoping they would be to his liking. He rubbed his chin, leaning down and looked at each painting intently.

"You've captured the suit perfectly." He murmured. "And the detail! I can almost see every stitch! _Incredible_! How much for all three?"

"Six hundred." Tammy answered evenly. "_Each_."

"Each!" He looked up incredulously as a startled laugh escaped him. "That's a bit overpriced, don't you think?"

"The price is set, Mr. Henderson." Tammy continued, fixing her glasses atop the bridge of her nose. "And to me, these are the best portraits you'll find of the vigilante. Your daughter's are fans of New York's favorite hero, correct?"

I bit my lip and looked down, trying to keep from smiling at how great Tammy was at her job. The man sighed and held one painting up. "Well, my wallet sure isn't a fan of his." He reached in his pocket, and pulled a credit card out. "All three, then."

II

"Thank you, Spider-Man!" I grinned, putting the money I had made off the sale away in my wallet as I walked out of the building and headed for the café across the street. The city was adorned with Christmas decorations and I couldn't help but admire the scenery. As I stood in line, my eyes wandered toward the nearby newsstand, reading the bold lettered headline,

**"SPIDER-MAN GONE FOR GOOD?"**

As I sipped on my coffee walking home, the question stuck with me. Where _was_ Spider-Man? He had been MIA for months now. Had a criminal finally succeeded in taking him down? Or was the man behind the mask simply tired of saving people?

When I got home, I spent a few hours painting before climbing out on the fire escape to watch the sunset as the thought of Spider-Man popped into my head again. Only this time it wasn't because I was curious of where he was at, but rather he was the inspiration for my second job. My _unofficial_ job.

Walking to my bathroom and quickly changed outfits. When I looked up at my reflection, I stared at the green eyed girl before me passively. Red hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail, eyes barely visible through a black mask, my button nose peeking out from the edge of it, and my lips dry and chapped from the cold weather outside. I finished zipping up my grey spandex suit, strapped by belt and pulled my boots on before slipping out into the night through the shadows.

I stretched my limbs on the roof quietly, searching for signs of trouble before giving a deep sigh. "Well, here we go."


	2. Chapter 2

_Peter POV_

Everything was different. Trees had lost their color, the greens blurring more into the dark mist that he felt suffocated him every day. Food had lost its flavor, leaving him with hardly any appetite, resulting in sunken cheeks and dark bags under the eyes. He had fallen into a black hole quite rapidly with no hope of escaping.

But his Aunt May—how he cherished her, _she_ had been the one to make him believe in himself again. He had become so absorbed in his own suffering that he'd completely forgotten she had lost her husband of over thirty years; she knew better than anyone of how he felt. So she talked, and he listened. Gradually, he felt the sun shine a little brighter, and the smells of the city became more pungent. And he definitely felt the indescribable fire coarse through his veins when he saw that child standing stoically in the street, dressed as _him_ and facing danger with more courage even he had in the past months.

Two months after that, he had heard whispers and read articles about someone new. Someone who had taken his place in his absence. This intrigued Peter because it was most certainly a woman, and he wondered just what type of ability she had. But he quickly realized how much difficult it was to learn more about her since she was apparently incredibly stealthy and secretive—obviously wanting to stay out of the press. People around the city began to call her Shadow for how easily she could slip into the darkness. He pulled his mask over his head and closed the window behind him, shooting his web and swinging in search for this Shadow.

_Rose POV_

"Please, I have to bring my mom back her stuff!"

I was immediately engaged at the frightened cry below me and hurried toward it. Once I approached, I saw two young boys, most likely egocentric teens trying to bully the young kid who had his small hands full with a bag of groceries.

"What? You do all your mommy's work?" One of the kids said, smacking the bag out of the frightened child's hands and flicking a pocket knife open while waving it around. "Where's your money?"

"I don't have any, I swear!" The younger boy cried, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"You know," I spoke slowly, picking up the grocery bag and startling the three kids at my appearance. "As cliché as the statement stands, hasn't anyone told you to pick on someone your own size?"

The one with the pocket knife regained his composure faster than the other, and laughed. Walking toward me, his pants sagged lower, causing me wonder if he would start waddling soon. "Get out of here, lady. This situation ain't none of your business."

"And by your definition, your situation is threatening a child?" I retorted putting a hand to my hip. "Isn't it a little late for you all to be out anyway. It's a school night."

The boy rolled his eyes, looking irritated now at me. "It's Christmas break. And like I said, this ain't your business."

"I'll give you two one more chance to walk away." I told them, flexing the fingers in my free hand. Obviously, I wasn't going to hurt them as they were underage, but that didn't mean I couldn't scare them.

"Or what?" The other teen replied, reaching up to pull at his hood. "You gonna call our moms?" They both laughed uproariously, finding it hilarious.

With a grimace, I tried to contain my annoyance. This part of the job was harder than the actual fighting. The whole not taking me seriously thing. Before I had a chance to react, another voice broke in, catching even me off guard.

"You know, that's a great idea, kid!"

Suddenly, the two teens were against the wall, trapped by a web around their wrists and ankles. "W-what the—!?"

Spider-Man! I gasped at the vigilante, watching as he lowered himself in front of the teens. He deftly reached into their jackets and pulled out their phones.

"What are you doing?" One of the teens asked, panicked. "D-don't call my mom, please!"

I forced myself to ignore what was going on and walked to the still frightened child. Lowering myself down to his level, I gave a him small wave before putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You ready go home?"

He nodded frantically and grabbed my offered hand, gripping it tightly. We began to walk out of the alley, and I glanced over my shoulder once more to be sure Spider-Man had it under control. He did.

"I'm Shadow." I introduced in a friendly manner, trying to get the boy to calm his nerves.

"I'm Benny." He responded quietly, peering up at me cautiously.

"That's a very nice name. I had a best friend named Benny a long time ago." I talked easily, seeing him relax. "Where do you live, Benny?"

He pointed to the building across the street with an open window, displaying a large and bright Christmas tree. "Wow! Is that your tree?" I asked him, genuinely admiring its beauty.

At this, Benny perked up and smiled widely, "Yeah! I even helped my dad put the lights and star on it!"

"It's beautiful!" I told him sincerely, feeling a smile pull across my face at his childlike excitement.

"Yeah!" He replied, fully at ease now. "It's the best tree ever!"

After a few moments of waiting for someone to answer the door, I could hear the sound of footsteps approaching and squared my shoulders back. The door swung open, and a middle aged woman opened her mouth to speak before her eyes widened and she stood there gaping.

"Thanks, Shadow!" Benny waved before disappearing behind his mother into the next room.

"You! You're—!"

"Are you Benny's mother?" I asked, fighting down a blush at her reaction toward me. I didn't like the attention speaking to her warranted, but it was necessary she knew what took place. The woman nodded, speechless, and grabbed the grocery bag I handed to her.

"You shouldn't be having your kid get groceries by himself. Especially at night. He was almost mugged."

The woman remained mute, and nodded. Before anything else could be said, I turned around and fled into the shadows. I scaled the nearest building and jumped from rooftop to rooftop before stopping to catch my breath.

"I assumed Shadow was a lot of things, but nurturing wasn't one of them." A voice spoke directly behind me jokingly. I jumped, and let out a startled gasp as I turned around to face the person.

There before me stood the Spider-Man, his stance looking lazy as his head lulled to the side to size me up presumably. I quickly regained my composure, however, and grimaced. "I can be a lot of things. One of them being _capable_. As in, I didn't need you to step in back there."

He lifted his hands in surrender and laughed defensively. "Whoa, whoa is that any way to thank someone who just helped you?"

I straightened my shoulders and looked up at him, as I was probably a foot shorter, refusing to appear nervous. How could I not be, though? I had never seen him in person, and I definitely held a personal admiration for him but that wasn't going to disrupt my work out here. "Well, thank you," I shrugged to appear nonchalant, "but next time I would appreciate it if you let me handle myself. You do your spider business and I'll do my Shadow business."

Though I couldn't see his face, I could practically feel a smirk radiating off of him. It was irritating, to say the least. Especially since I was trying to remain professional. "What?" I grit out as he remained quiet, while he continued to inspect me by circling my figure.

"So what's your power?" He asked randomly, crossing his arms. I refrained from staring his muscles as they moved under the skin tight suit. Clearing my throat, I looked up at the wide white masked eyes staring at me and felt my brain short circuit.

"W-what?"

Again, I felt the smirk and felt my cheeks burn hot, knowing I had been caught staring. With a purposely chipper voice, he repeated his question. "I asked what your powers are."

I licked my lips, relieving the dryness for a short moment and shrugged. "I don't have any."

For some reason this answer didn't seem like it was what he was expecting and his stance quickly changed from relaxed to tense as his arms dropped to his side. "What do you mean you don't have any? What are you doing out here then?"

My brows furrowed at his change in attitude and I grimaced. "You don't need powers to help others."

"_No_," He said terser and sarcastic manner, clenching his fists. "Just a lack of common sense, apparently."

"Are you calling me stupid?" My eyes narrowed and I clenched my jaw, feeling offended at his words. What was with this guy? Where did he get off insulting me?

"I'm calling you irresponsible." The humor he had just moments earlier were complete gone at this point and it felt rather like I was getting reprimanded like a child.

"How dare you!" I felt my body tense in anger. "I have been doing this for months now, picking up _your_ slack! I can defend myself!"

I noticed him clench his fists as I mentioned his absence, and forced myself to remain unfazed. Though really, I was afraid I had crossed a line. This definitely wasn't how I envisioned myself in the past talking to Spider-Man for the first time.

"You don't know anything about that." He bit out in a low, warning tone.

Despite being intimidated, I continued unprovoked. "I'm not claiming to, but I _am_ saying though your concern is appreciated, I'm a grown woman. I can take care of myself. I won't stop. I can't now, even if I tried."

Spider-Man remained silent, but eventually sighed when he took in the weight of my words, "Look, Darkness—,"

"Shadow.,"

"—it's my job to protect people. I'm trying to protect you. I've been doing this for a while, and trust me when I tell you you'll only end up putting your loved ones in danger. It's really not as glamorous as it seems."

I bristled at his words and pursed my lips irritable. "So you think I'm just doing this for _glamour_!?"

"Wha—_no_! No, I just mean—ugh," He shook his head in frustration, seemingly trying to find the words to say. "I just mean, aren't you worried about your _family_? Your boyfriend? Friends?"

With a deep sigh, my hands fell to my waist and I hoped I was staring him in the eyes as I answered. "Look, Spidey, you just let me worry about that, okay?" The truth was my foster parents both lived in Australia, and my older estranged sister lived across the country in California. All of which I hadn't spoken to in years. The only family I had here in New York was my foster grandmother who was in a nursing home with Alzheimer's Disease and a few friends I got together with every now and then for drinks so no— I really wasn't risking much. Especially with my grandmother, not knowing who I was anymore.

"I just need you to know—,"

A loud scream nearby interrupted him, startling us both before the two of us reacted and rushed to the sound. Spider-Man swung down to liquor store just a few building away, reaching it before me. When I heard a gunshot go off, I willed my legs to run faster. As I reached the store, I peeked through the glass doors, remaining unseen for the moment and inspecting the situation.

A man with a mask was standing at the counter with a gun pointed at the man behind the register. There was another employee beside him with her hands up, looking terrified. She must have been the one to scream and cause the robber to fire a warning shot.

"Hurry up!" The masked man yelled impatiently, looking around. He was probably anticipating the hooded vigilante to appear any moment. Without wasting any more time, I busted through the door as fast as I could and dodged the bullet the whizzed past me. I grabbed the man's hand holding the gun before he could react, and twisted his arm, effectively causing him to yell in pain. He wasn't giving up easy, though, I realized as he reached up to yank my head back by my hair. With brute force he leaned back and came forward, smashing his head against mine.

The blunt force caused me to grunt in pain and I blinked rapidly, trying to see past the dots in my vision. At that moment, Spider-Man intervened with another smart ass remark, and had him in his web dangling from the ceiling. Taking the opportunity to leave while Spider-Man was the focus, I quickly left to avoid too much exposure, but decided to linger behind just long enough to hear the aftermath.

"Now would be a good time to call the police." I could hear Spider-Man tell the employees in a cheeky tone. I turned my head at an odd angle, giving me access to see him.

"Ma'am." The masked hero tipped an invisible hat on his head and headed out the store, pausing momentarily to look around.

Was he trying to find me? Panic seized my heart, and I quickly quieted my breathing and remained still. It must have worked because after lingering a moment more, he turned his head upward and shot his web into the sky, disappearing into the night.

My shoulder's slouched in relief at his absence_. Maybe next time our encounter wouldn't be so tense._


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a couple weeks since meeting Spider-Man, and despite going out every night to do my vigil duty, we hadn't crossed paths again. It was a big city after all. In present time, I was sprawled across my apartment floor, frustrated at the lack of inspiration for a new painting. Bills still had to be paid and Tammy had advised me that I had two weeks to complete two of them.

My lip jutted out in a pout as I continued to stare at the ceiling. I waved the paintbrush in the air, pretending to paint the ceiling before some of it fell off the brush at the movement and onto my face. "Oh!"

I wiped at the lilac paint on my cheek, effectively spreading it instead of getting rid of it. At the same moment, my phone began to ring and I got up with a huff, still sore from a late evening out. "Hello?" I answered, still trying to rub the paint off.

"Ms. Evans? Ms. Rose Evans?" An unfamiliar voice replied monotonously.

"Yes?" I asked, feeling an unsettling feeling in my gut. "Speaking."

"Ms. Evans, this is Doctor Howard Holvik at Mercy Hospital. I have some news regarding your grandmother Anette Evans."

That unsettled feeling quickly turned to dread and I hurriedly grabbed my bag and coat, already heading out the door. "Is she alright? What's happened?"

"Ms. Evans, I'm sorry to call you at such a late hour but you are the only emergency contact listed on our paperwork; Your grandmother suffered a stroke at around eleven o' clock this evening. The staff at her home contacted us right away."

"Is she alright?" I repeated, hailing a cab and giving the address quickly. "I'm on my way right now."

"She— I can give details when you get here but as of right now she's stable. Unresponsive, but stable."

"I'll be there in ten minutes." I told him before hanging up.

My head fell against the glass on the window and I closed my eyes. I knew her health deteriorating was inevitable, but the thought was something I had tried to avoid for some time now. The fear of losing her was all too real now... I visited her every day and despite her Alzheimer's I still held on to the belief that she took comfort in my presence as I took comfort in hers.

II

My fears had come to pass.

Bringing my grandmother's hand up to my mouth, I gave it a lingering kiss and tried to stop crying.

A hand on my shoulder had me open my eyes, but I kept my gaze on my grandmother's unmoving form. "Dear,"

I turned to the person calling for me and recognized Nurse Parker instantly. She had a softness in her gaze that I took a small comfort in. "Oh, Rose... I'm so sorry." Her hand gently patted my head and a dry sob escaped my throat.

Nurse May Parker had been the only hospital staff I had formed a bond with in the past three days that I had been here at my grandmother's side. She was the only one who had actually tried to connect with the patients and their families. She was kind hearted, and truly genuine. I had instantly leaned on her for support, making her job much more difficult, I'm sure—yet she never failed to offer help and support. She had even gone out of her way on one of her days off and took me out for lunch. Of course, I paid for our meals but her presence was payment enough.

"Ms. May... You guys need to remove her now, don't you?" I asked quietly, referring to the body. My stomach was in knots, and my throat felt dry and swollen, making it hard to swallow.

"Yes. I'm sorry." She whispered, looking indeed just that.

I nodded silently, untangling my hand from my grandmother's and leaning over her cold body to kiss her forehead. "Love you, Nana." I whispered tremulously. "I hope you and Papi found each other again."

When I pulled away, I did my best to avoid Ms. May's sympathetic gaze and grabbed my coat and bag. Silently, I walked out of the room, Ms. May in step behind me.

"Is there anyone home for you?" She asked, trying to get me to make eye contact. I wanted to lie and say yes, so she wouldn't pity me more but I couldn't force myself to lie to her; not to the only person who had shown shown me such kindness and empathy.

"No." I mumbled, hoarsely as I shook my head. "I—I'm alone."

"Come to my house." She offered kindly with an eagerness to her tone.

I wanted so badly to say yes, but I couldn't burden her and her family with a grieving woman. And on New Year's Eve, no less. "No, Ms. May, please don't feel sorry for me. I'll be okay. You go home with your family."

"Nonsense." She waved, as if what I had said hadn't even phased her. "Nobody should ever be alone when they're grieving, especially on the holidays. It's just my nephew and I, and I think you should come. I could make a nice dinner..."

I felt my eyes water and tried to find anything in her eyes that would have me believe she was just saying these things to be nice, but found nothing but tender sincerity. "Okay," I nodded, "Are you sure?"

She smiled softly and held my shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. "Absolutely." She smiled softly. "Now, if you don't mind waiting for me in the waiting room; I still have another fifteen minutes before my shift's over."

"Okay." I hugged her quickly. "Thank you, Ms. May."

"You're welcome, dear." She patted my cheek before sending me away.

This night Spider-Man would have to tackle the streets alone.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Peter POV**_

It was a slow night to be out (so far), Peter thought as he swung from building to building. He was sure once it neared closer to midnight, the real crazies would come out. He heard his phone go off in his backpack, and slung himself on top a high building making sure he was out of sight to pull it out and answer, "Hey Aunt May."

"Peter," His aunt whispered on the other line, sounding preoccupied. "I need you to pick up some garlic bread from the store. We are having someone over tonight."

"Aunt May," Peter groaned in protest, thinking of an excuse to get out of it. He had no time for Aunt May's friends when there was sure to be some action tonight.

"Peter," His aunt warned, sounding especially stern, which caused him to shut his mouth. "You _are_ going to be there tonight. This poor girl has had a very difficult day and she has no family to support her. Which is why you and I are going to offer a nice dinner and New Year's Celebration."

Peter threw his head back, still thinking up ways to avoid this. "But—,"

"I'm serious, Peter." May spoke sternly before it quickly softened in a plea. "I need you to do this. For _me_."

He rubbed a hand over his face and grimaced. There was no way he would argue when she said it that way. "_Fine_. Okay, okay. I'll get garlic bread."

"_And_ you'll be home tonight." She added, knowing how Peter's mind worked.

"_And_ I'll be home tonight." He mumbled, already making his way to the store.

"Thank you, dear. Love you."

"Love you, too." He hung up and sighed deeply. "Well, Shadow, you're on your own tonight."

II

"Aunt May! I got your bread!" Peter yelled out as he arrived home. He walked into the kitchen without looking up and put the bag on the counter. "The garlic kind." He added, hugging his aunt from behind as she was putting noodles into a pot.

"Peter!" May chuckled, playfully pushing him away.

"So where's your friend. Did she bail?" He asked curiously as he released her.

A cough from behind made him spin on his toes and his eyes fell across the young woman leaning against the counter, cradling a mug in her hands. From the wavy red hair, and the bright— _albeit_ _bloodshot_, green eyes, he knew immediately who he was looking at; Apparently Shadow wouldn't be out in the town like he'd presumed. No, she'd be having dinner at his house.

"Um, hi." She gave a nervous wave.

_**Rose POV**_

As soon as I heard Ms. May's nephew come through the front door, I became nervous. I wasn't exactly the most socially inclined person but considering how well-rounded Ms. May was, I figured she had to have raised a pretty decent boy.

When he came into the kitchen, he didn't notice my presence and continued to act normally. And when he hugged his aunt, I saw the undeniable love between them and nearly looked away from the familial affection. It seemed too private.

"So where's your friend. Did she bail?" He asked, releasing her. His voice sounded so familiar, but I couldn't place him. Had he bought a painting recently? Maybe he was someone I had helped? I didn't know. But I coughed to bring myself to his attention.

When I saw his face, my breath caught in my throat. He was _handsome_. Scruffy brown hair, contagious smile, and his puppy dog eyes—which were now looking me up and down quite obviously. However, it didn't feel like he was checking me out sexually... it was almost like he was observing me.

"Um, hi." I gave a wave, drawing his eyes back to mine.

"Peter, this is Rose. She's spending New Year's with us." May introduced, holding Peter by his arm and gesturing toward me, indicating us to shake hands. "And Rose, this is my nephew, Peter. He has a habit of being late."

"Don't worry, Peter," I smiled timidly up at him as I shook his hand, "I guess we share that habit. But only when it comes to work on my end."

He laughed at that and I couldn't help but feel that twinge of familiarity again. I put my coffee down and leaned toward him as May continued her cooking. "You know, Peter, I think we've met before. You just seem so... familiar."

His eyes looked away after I said that and he chuckled while scratching the back of his head. "Uh, yeah. I hear that a lot. I guess I just have one of those faces."

Ms. May turned her head toward us and then looked to her nephew. "Maybe you two went to school together. Rose is twenty, also."

"Yeah!" He exclaimed, trying to pick at the garlic bread before Ms. May slapped his hand away. "It's possible."

"Nah, that's not it." I chuckled lightly as I shook my head. "I was home schooled by my grandpa."

"Oh," His shoulders sagged.

"Have you bought any of my paintings?" I pressed, tilting my head to the side. "From the Building off 25th?"

"You paint?" He grin grew wider and I couldn't help but feel a blush coming on at how attractive it made him look.

I reached up and played with my hair nervously, not expecting his smile toward me to affect me in such a manner. "I guess the answer to my question is no, and yours is yes."

"You two can sit in the living room or Peter, better yet, show her around the house. You're in my way." Ms. May said, shooing us out of the kitchen.

"Okay there, Emeril! Please don't assault me with your wooden spoon!" Peter laughed as Ms. May waved the utensil threateningly at him.

"Here, I'll show you my room." Peter gestured to the stairs, grabbing his backpack and leading me out of the kitchen. "So...?"

"So, what?"

Peter threw his backpack on the floor and I took my time in observing his room after we entered it. It wasn't anything special—just a typical teenage bedroom, complete with being a total mess. His voice broke me out of my examination as he asked, "What do you paint?"

"Oh," My mind kind of went blank as I tried to sum up my painting style. Kind of like when someone asks you what your favorite song is and you suddenly can't remember what music you even like anymore. But, he was still waiting for an answer so I shrugged and responded, "Well, I do a little of everything, I guess. Usually, I paint whatever my collector asks for— by request of the buyers; but most of the time I paint whatever comes forward based on my feelings that day."

When I looked over at him, Peter was sitting on his bed just watching me observe his stuff. "I'm sure they're great. You look like the creative type."

"Thank you." I chuckled, narrowing my eyes slightly. "To be honest, though... The majority of my paintings are Spider-Man. He's what pays me the bigger bucks."

At this, Peter threw his head back and laughed uproariously, causing that feeling in my stomach to happen again. "What?" I narrowed my eyes, laughing along with him due to his infectious laugh.

"I just never knew people would actually pay to have paintings of that guy!" His laughter dying down as he leaned forward on his knees, and rubbed his hands together.

"What do you mean, _that_ guy?" I furrowed my brow, feeling slightly defensive. I hoped Peter didn't hate Spider-Man because that could very well mean he disliked Shadow as well, and would obviously deter us from developing any type of friendship. "He happens to be one of the most courageous men in this city. He puts himself at risk every day to help the innocent and get the criminals in jail."

Yes, I was rambling and hoped I hadn't appeared like a crazy woman fangirling over someone he potentially didn't even like; however, when I looked at him, he just had this cute, annoying smirk on his face. "Did I touch a nerve?"

His smirk never left his face and I scoffed nervously before stuttering out, "_No_. I— I just wanted to voice my opinion."

"I think he gives people hope." He said thoughtfully and then adding, "Just like Shadow."

My eyes snapped up at him and I felt incredibly flattered. Sure, Peter didn't know _I_ was Shadow, but the compliment felt nice, nonetheless. "Really?" I asked, hoping to know more about how he thought of my private identity.

"Yeah," Peter nodded, crossing his arms behind his head, and leaning back against his mattress. "I saw her once." He spoke, piquing my interest further. "She was helping someone. I kind of wanted to say something to her, but I wasn't able to."

"Really?" I pried further, leaning forward. "Why not?"

"I just figured she didn't need a guy distracting her from her business."

"Well, I'm glad she gives people hope." I looked away and out toward the window. "I'm grateful this city has people like them to fight for its citizens."

"You talk as if you know them." Peter joked, raising a playful brow at me.

"N-no!" I argued, hoping I hadn't given myself away. "That's ridiculous. I'm a nobody."

"I'm sure that's not true." He grimaced at me.

There was an almost tangible silence that filled the room after that before Peter thankfully changed the subject. The topic was less than preferable, however. "So, if you don't mind me asking... what happened?"

"What do you mean?" I muttered, already knowing to what he was referring to. He gave me a blank stare.

"You lost someone." Peter stated, looking at me straight-faced as I nodded in affirmation. "Yes," I told him, thinking back to when I was at the hospital earlier that day. "My grandmother... she, uh, she passed away earlier today."

He raised his hand to pat my knee but seemingly thought better of it and instead placed it on my arm. With what I assumed to be an empathetic pat to my arm, I continued before he could apologize like everyone did when someone faced the death of a loved on. "You don't need to say sorry. The woman seventy six and was suffering from a lot of different things. She's in a better place now with my Papi. I'll miss her, but I knew it was coming. It just... happened a little sooner than I expected."

Shit, I hope I hadn't sounded heartless. Peter didn't seem like he was judging me though, so I eased my shoulders and waited for him to break the silence with another question. "Do you have any other family?"

My nose automatically and my eyes rose to look at the ceiling, causing me to wonder if it was normal to feel lack of emotion to the mention of family. "I have a half-sister in California, and my foster parents live in Australia." I explained to him. "They opened up their own lab over there or something. I get postcards from time to time."

Peter seemed to be absorbing everything I was saying with a considerable amount of interest before giving me a half smile, "I was about to say sorry, but I remembered you told me not to."

With a small laugh, I grinned in relief. "Yes, please don't. I'm actually very content with my life for the most part. I have a job I love and the freedom and capability to support myself. I don't need to rely on anyone but myself to get by. I'm grateful."

Peter searched my eyes, making me feel nervous for some reason. After a few seconds, I broke eye contact, wanting to avoid a blush.

"Dinner's ready!" Ms. May called from down the stairs.

Peter got up with a little bounce in his step. "Come on, let's go eat!"

II

_**Peter POV**_

After a surprisingly nice evening, Peter hadn't realized the ball had dropped for the New Year, and while Aunt May had fell asleep hours earlier, he and Rose had been too busy talking all night to notice.

"Wow, I can't believe we missed the New Year countdown." Rose laughed, looking at her phone, before lifting her hands up near her face. "Happy New Year!"

"Happy twenty minutes into the New Year!" Peter responded with sarcastic enthusiasm. She grinned at his joking tone, which he hated to admit was a very lovely smile. He briefly hoped nothing too bad had happened out in the city while the two of them stayed in his house just talking the evening away, but didn't allow himself to linger on the thought.

"I'd better head back to my apartment." Rose yawned, putting her phone away and pulling her coat on.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Peter offered, standing up and walking to the front door with her as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"That's really sweet of you, but totally unnecessary." She looked at him, her eyes looking heavy. Rose had seemed incredibly tired, and when she looked out into the street her body slumped a little bit, hinting at her fatigue. She sighed heavily, but gave him a tired smile. "Please thank Ms. May for her generosity. And thank you for putting up with me when you could have totally gone out with your friends to celebrate."

He grinned at her, internally trying to remember if he even _had_ friends. Sure, co-workers at the Bugle. But not really friends. "Nah, I had a better time here. Take care, Rose."

She began to sluggishly walk down the stairs and waved at him again before heading down the street. Peter quickly took his clothes off, revealing his suit, and pulled his mask out of his bag. He pulled it over his head before slipping out the window to follow her.

Knowing she must obviously keep herself on alert at all times, he stayed as stealthy as he could as he tracked her to make sure she got home safely. To his surprise, she only lived about a mile away and he crawled on the wall, watching as she entered the building. Through the windows, he could see her climb the stairs to her apartment on the fifth floor. He crawled toward what should be her apartment window, and looked inside, praying he wasn't going to be caught or mistaken for a pervert.

He continued to watch as she entered her front door. _Don't you think about going out tonight,_ he thought as he heard her hiss in pain while she reached down to pull her shoes off. Peter took a moment to wonder what type of injury she had but when he saw begin to unbutton her jeans, he realized he wasn't going to stick around to find out.

With a shot of his web, he took off once more into the night toward his home. _Happy New Year._


	5. Chapter 5

**3:27PM, Monday, February 10th, 2014**

I was so close to finishing my best painting yet. Putting my utmost focus on the steadiness of my hand to finish the last few details, I felt like I had a burden lifted off my shoulders. When I was finally done, I put my brush down and stepped away to admire my work. The soft colors only enhanced the beauty of the faces that were the focus of the piece.

_I miss you guys so much._ My eyes closed and I forcing the tears down. I knew my grandparents were in a better place; they weren't suffering anymore. _I knew that._ It didn't mean I didn't miss them. I had been working on this particular painting since the passing of my grandmother, and I took my time, making sure I did it just right.

It was of my Papi holding my Nana, staring at her in a loving manner. I had remembered the picture that my foster mother had before she and my father left for Australia and used it as a referece. I would wait until the painting dried and would hang it somewhere in this apartment. _Not really anywhere to hang it_, I thought looking at the cramped walls.

I'd make room.

While wiping my hands on a rag, I walked over to my table and picked up the letter I'd received in the mail earlier that morning.

It was from my sister. Well, my estranged half-sister. I didn't know her, just that we'd be separated after being put in the foster care system when I was just a baby. That, and the fact she was only there for a few years before she set off on her own adulthood experience. We had "reconnected", if that's what you wanted to call it, when I was thirteen. There was a fifteen year age difference between us and she had asked me at the time if I was happy, and if I understood what had taken place with us and our family.

While I didn't fully understand, I _was_ happy. I grew up with a loving foster family. Sure, my parents were consumed in their work, but my grandparents always filled in as parents when they couldn't. I never grew up without anything, and for that I was extremely grateful and appreciative. I knew most kids in the system weren't so lucky.

It was when I was seventeen that she wrote me for the second time, giving her condolences for my grandfather's death, and once more as my grandmother passed. I suppose it was better to receive it almost two months late than to not received it at all.

_Rose,_

_I've heard about your grandmother. I'm very sorry, and if there's anything I can help you with, please don't be afraid to contact me. Hope you are doing well. I will be here in the city back and forth from California for the next few months for business as you might have read in the paper. Please feel free to contact me back if you feel inclined to get together. I will be giving a speech at the construction site tomorrow at noon. Address is below._

_My deepest condolences,_

_V.P._

A snort came out of me at how professional she was. Even while trying to offer condolences, she almost never gave any type of emotion in any of the letters she sent. And there was no way in hell I was about to go and watch her speech while there were paparazzi, journalists and the like there.

_"This just in, breaking news. A hostage situation is taking place right now at Union Bank on-"_

I quickly tuned out the television and stripped my clothes as fast I could, wasting no time in getting my mask and suit on. I jumped out the window and ran to the destination.

_**Peter POV**_

"What's the situation, Chief?" Peter asked, turning to the cop as he landed on top of the patrol car.

"Spider-Man!" The cop greeted, gun pointed at the entrance of the bank. "Six robbers, fifteen hostages. We're working on coaxing them to release the them before anything turns messy."

Spider-Man nodded thoughtfully, quickly advising a plan in his head. It was then he heard the cops yell out "Freeze!"

He turned his attention to where they now had their guns pointed. A petite frame atop the building. Rose! Shadow. "Hold your fire, guys! She's with me."

"Are you sure?" The cop questioned wearily.

"Yes," Spider-Man said seriously. "Trust me. We'll bring everyone out safely."

After a moment of hesitation, the police lowered their weapons from Rose, who had already managed to get inside the building and continued to do their job. Peter shot his web out and flung himself atop the building as well, trying to find the entrance to where Rose had slipped through.

Once inside the building, he relied on his senses to lead him where the victims were being held captive. He heard a faint crying a floor below him, with a woman trying to comfort someone.

He moved quickly, crossing a room with screens of where the cameras where focused on. "Thank you, Security." He whispered, locating the victims and suspects. His main goal was to get the captives out safely, then take out the bad guys. Apparently, Shadow had other ideas.

He saw Rose, crouch behind the counter, prepping herself to fight. "Come on, now, Rose. Don't do anything stupid."

He ran out and snuck to where he heard the crying, and in the lobby of the bank he saw the civilians all face down on the floor, their hands behind their backs. Scanning the area, he saw only one man with a ski mask on, and a rifle in his hand, prepared to shoot. "Pfft, you guys make this too easy."

With little effort, Peter shot at his gun, disarming him immediately and ignoring his startled cry before leaving him suspended him in the air, and effectively silencing him. "_Go_!" He told the people quietly, holding a finger to his lips as he tried not to alert the other criminals of his arrival. The people ran out quickly, trying to be silent. He felt his heart drop into his stomach when he heard multiple sounds of gunshots go off and tried to rush the people to get out faster. When the last man had gotten out, he heard a feminine cry pierce the air and didn't waste any time making his way to her.

_**Rose POV**_

There was five of them.

Shit. That meant there was one out in the lobby with the hostages. But as soon as I had seen Spider-Man outside— by the multiple times we had worked together in the past few months— I knew his priority would be to get the captives free. This gave me the opportunity to take out the other men.

Peeking from behind the counter I saw two armed men guarding the opened vault, which meant the other three were probably busy stashing their bags with other people's hard earned money. With a deep breath and a crack to my neck, I sprung up like a deer, and leaped across the counter, charging toward the men.

Gunshots rang out, and I dodged what I saw. When I got close enough, I kicked the gun out of the first man's hands, while dodging a punch from tweedle-dee. With a side kick, I sent tweedle-dee staggering backward, giving me the quick second the grip tweedle-dum's neck and slamming his head against the wall. He grunted in pain and stumbled to his knees. I then kneed his nose, effectively putting him down.

I felt a sharp pain to my back as I flew head first into the wall, "_Agh_!"

"You little bitch!"

I felt another kick to my side before I reached for the gun that had fallen to the floor. As I turned around, I did my best to ignore the nausea I felt, and aimed for my target, sending a round of bullets to the man's kneecaps. He screamed as he fell to the floor and gripped his legs. With a small stagger, I pulled myself up and entered the vault.

The men inside were waiting for me, two of which wasted no time in pinning me against the wall. One of the men gripped my neck, cutting my air off. His grip was tight, and I fought to get his hands off— something that amused them as they laughed at me. _Oh, no! Oh, no_. I could help but panic as black and white dots clouded my vision and my lungs began to burn. "Heh, I didn't know Spider-Man was gonna send his whore to do his dirty work."

"You have a world of pain coming to you, baby." The leader of them said, lifting his gun to my forehead. With a flicker of hope, I noticed the idiot still had the safety on, and with every ounce of strength I lifted my hands and jammed my pointer and middle finger as hard as I could into his exposed eyeballs. I ignored the pop I felt against my fingertips and he tumbled to the floor, wailing and screaming in pain.

I fell from his grasp, gasping for breath before trying to get my vision straight. Then, everything moved in slow motion as I saw one of the two remaining men aim his gun at me and pull the trigger. "Enough of this shit."

I felt the impact of the bullet but it took a moment for the pain to register and I fell down against the wall, trying to put pressure on the wound. It was below my right breast, and I vaguely recalled hearing the other men being apprehended.

"Oh, man. Oh, man." I felt a gloved hand cup my cheek. "Come on, stay with me, Shadow."

"Spider-Man." I lifted my widened eyes up at him and tried to stay calm. "Take me out of here."

"Let's get you to the Hospital." He insisted, gently picking me up.

"No!" I yelled, startling him. "No, take me to my apartment."

I gave him my address as he carried me quickly out of the building. "Don't be stupid! You need medical attention. Like, now!"

"And I'll get it. Just take me home." I argued, becoming annoyed. I was injured, not dying. I had the skills to remove a bullet. I'd done so before. "Don't argue with me. Not now."

After debating with himself, Spider-Man changed his direction and took me to my apartment. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm leaving you alone."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Of course he was going to help. There were no encounters where he wasn't infuriatingly stubborn in doing things his way. "Good. I might need a little help."

_**Peter POV**_

Peter was panicking. He had had gunshot wounds before, but he had an advantage over the average person. He was quick to heal. And unless Rose was had had any encounters with a radioactive spider lately, he doubted she had the same skill. He landed as gently as he could at her windowsill, and opened it with one arm, supporting her weight in his other.

She groaned in pain at the movement causing him to look down at her worriedly. "Are you sure you don—,"

"If you mention the hospital one more time, I'll be forced to hurt you." She retorted, trying to sound stronger than she was. "After a week of sleep of course."

He grinned, relieved her temperament and personality were unaffected, and chuckled a bit more easily. "I'll mark it on my calendar. I'll even add the effect of shaking with fear into it. Give it a bit more drama."

She gave an unladylike snort at that and nodded. "You should be. I throw a mean punch."

He laid her softly on the bed, before she clung to him harder and resisted to be let go. "No, no, no!" She protested, making him worried he had done something wrong or hurt her injury.

"What?" He shouted fearfully, pulling her back up against his chest. "What's wrong!?"

He saw her point to her kitchen counter. "Lay me there. I don't want blood on my mattress and sheets. I just bought these ones."

"Are you serious?" Peter asked incredulously. "Tell me you're joking."

"They're Egyptian cotton." She mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

With a shake of his head, he laid her down on the bed anyway, ignoring her protests. "I'll buy you new ones."

"...Fine." She huffed, knowing he obviously didn't care about her new favorite sheets. The wrong move of her chest caused a startling pain to shoot through her and she hissed at the sensation.

He looked at the wound, noticing she had again pressed her hand against it. Rose had her eyes shut tightly in pain and she pointed toward her kitchenette as she grit out, "There's a first-aid kit under the sink. Bring it here, please."

Peter hurriedly went to the sink and grabbed the small red box before rushing back to her side. His cheeks heated slightly when he watched her begin to unzip her suit slowly. "What are you doing?" He asked loudly, caught off guard by her actions.

He saw her lacy bra and exposed, blood covered midriff and quickly averted his eyes. She was blushing fiercely and he couldn't help but notice a few paint speckles on her face that he hadn't seen before. She was obviously embarrassed, but continued to pull her left arm out of the suit before attempting with her right and crying out in pain. He felt his heart clench at how pathetic she looked. But he also couldn't keep from noticing just how attractive she was. Shaking his head from his thoughts he rushed by her side. "Hey, don't move too much or you're gonna pass out from blood loss. Just take it nice and slow."

"I...Please help me then." She looked anywhere but his masked eyes. "I really don't want to ruin this suit and the bullet needs to be extracted then sewn shut."

Peter swallowed thickly, wondering how _this_ became part of his job. "Uhhh..."

"Uhgn..." Rose's head drooped in pain, causing him to snap out of it. He grabbed the material and gingerly lifted her arm from it, trying to keep it from stretching the wound.

"Okay, alright, let's just uh, get this arm out..."

"Oh, god..." She mumbled, as more tears slid down her face. "I should really invest in a bullet proof vest because this just _sucks_."

Peter tried to keep his mind on the task at hand as he helped her undress. Yes, he was helping Rose with her wound, but he was still a twenty-year old guy hovered over an attractive, topless woman. But... he knew she had to have been even more uncomfortable than him, if the flush that ran from her face down her chest were any indication. He watched as she tried to angle herself to dig for the bullet with her tweezers, but was obviously having difficulty in doing so.

At her struggle, Peter offered his hand. "Need help?"

She sighed in frustration. "What good am I if I can't even help myself?"

Despite her remark, she handed the tweezers to Peter and tried to pull her bra higher to keep from causing friction to the wound. Unfortunately, it wasn't working and she shut her eyes in humiliation as she realized the bra needed to be removed in order to lift her breast up by hand for a clean extraction. "Spider-Man,"

"Hm."

Peter was focusing on keeping his hand steady as he looked up at Rose when she repeated his name. "Yeah?"

"Close your eyes." She demanded quietly.

"What?"

"_Close. Your. Eyes."_ She repeated through clenched teeth. "And they had better be closed."

He did so without questioning why, and when she told him to open them again, the breath in his lungs shot out through his nose and he gulped. Her left arm was supporting her full chest and her right arm was thrown back by her head, giving him full vision and access to begin the extraction. Her position was provocative, but the situation was anything but.

It took nearly an hour to complete the extraction, but Rose guided him throughout the whole thing with a few grunts and moans of pain every so often. Gwen had been the one to do this for him, so he was new to it. He was a quick learner, though. When he finished the last stitch, he leaned back and rubbed his hands over his face, physically and mentally exhausted. "You should stay off the streets for a while. Leave it to me for a bit."

Rose nodded and pulled her new sheet to cover herself. "Thank you. I'm so sorry you had to do that. I... I'm just really sorry."

Peter shook his head and chuckled. "Don't worry about it. All in a day's work, right?"

"This was a little above your paygrade." Rose joked weakly, finally feeling the effects of the day through her. "Thank you."

"Friends help friends, right?" Peter continued, trying to be nonchalant though he felt his stomach in knots at her genuine tone.

"Right." She nodded, clutching the bloodstained sheet tighter to her chest. She began to stand, chuckling when he prepared himself to catch her if she fell and tied a small knot to keep the sheet from exposing her fully.

"You going to be okay?" He asked her, tone laced with concern.

"I will." She said before looking down at her bed with a lazy pout. "My new sheets won't though."

Peter laughed and shook his head before letting his hand fall gently atop her red hair. "I said I'd buy you new ones, remember?"

She smiled tiredly at him and moved closer to him until their bodies were almost touching. Peter searched her eyes, feeling strangely anxious at her actions. He hadn't felt this type of feeling in his stomach since... No, he wasn't going to go there.

He could almost feel her timidity as she reached up with her good arm and touched his mask, slowly raising it up.

"Don't," He whispered softly, grateful that his voice didn't crack with the emotions he was feeling.

"Trust me." She breathed out, hoping her eyes were leveled with his.

And he did. He trusted her. She never gave him a reason not to. Not as Shadow, nor as Rose. He almost shivered as he felt her fingers slide across his jaw as she rolled the mask above his lips before stopping. It seemed as though the sounds of the city became silent and all he could hear was his rapid heartbeat.

She closed her eyes and her luscious lips parted as she leaned toward him, hoping he'd lower his face to hers. He didn't deny himself this. Maybe he was selfish. Maybe he was foolish. He didn't care. No. Peter poured himself into that kiss, his hands cupping her face.

She mewled into his mouth, causing their kiss to deepen as her tongue ran across his lip, gaining access to all of him. Fire coiled in her gut for a different sensation than pain, and she sighed in content when he moved his lips languidly against hers.

It felt too soon when he pulled away, but he knew she needed rest and he needed to get home. He opened his eyes and felt breathless at her beauty. Her lips were red and swollen from the kiss and he fought the urge to kiss her again. "Get some rest, Shadow."

She nodded mutely, licking her lips as he walked to the window. She closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath herself. After only a short moment, she wasn't surprised to find him already gone when she opened them back up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Five Weeks Later**

I was trapped. There was no way out. Surrounded by these people who were ready to snap and attack at any moment...

"Tall Chai Latte for Rose!"

With a sigh of relief, I pushed through the crowd of rude people at Starbucks, and grabbed my drink, ready to get the hell out of there. On my way out, I bumped into someone by accident, causing the man to drop all his papers. "Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry. Excuse me."

_Nice going, Rose!_ "I'm so sorry, let me help you." I knelt down and put my drink on the floor, quickly picking up the papers. "Again, I'm so sorry."

The older man gave a small laugh, "Oh, it's fine. I should've watched where I was going. I'm trying to figure out this damn phone. When people use Skype they never tell you how to flip the screen."

I wanted to laugh at the man's genuine lack of knowledge on the technology but refrained from doing so as he was genuinely struggling. "Hello? Hello, Tony, can you still hear me?"

"May I?" I reached my free hand out, silently offering my help.

He hesitated, debating if I was trustworthy or not, and gave a defeated sigh. "Sure, why not. Here."

"Nice phone." I commented, before realizing he wasn't even on his Skype app. "Okay, your call's disconnected. Did you want me to redial the last person on your history?"

"Yeah, please." He nodded, looking over my shoulder onto the screen. "I didn't get what type of drink he wanted."

With a grin, I connected the call, trying to not appear too nosy. An older man, who looked strangely familiar appeared on the screen and widened his eyes at me. "Happy, I told yo—you are not Happy."

"I'm here!" The man behind me said, coming into view on the screen. What a peculiar name, Happy.

"Shame. She's way cuter than you. What's your name?"

"Here you go, sir." I continued, ignoring the man on the screen. I pointed to the small icon on the top of the screen. "This is where you push to switch screens." I told him before demonstrating.

The man, Happy, grabbed his phone back and thanked me. "Next thing you know there's going to be another update that'll confuse me even more."

"You'll catch on." I giggled. He just looked too funny, trying to chat with the other man on the line.

"Thanks..." He smiled, shaking my hand.

"Rose." I answered, returning the handshake. The man on the other end seemed to be getting annoyed with being ignored and I quickly excused myself. "Nice meeting you."

"You, too." He waved in goodbye before entering the crowded store. "No, Tony, she's way too young for me."

What a way to start the day, I thought as entered my apartment. Looking at the time, I hurriedly got back to my painting. I needed to finish before five, so I had about four hours. That would be plenty to finish Ms. May's birthday gift, and I wanted to give it to her before she had to work. During the past couple months, Ms. May had become somewhat of mother figure to me. We had lunches out, a few shopping trips, and even tried out a book club. Neither of us could commit to that though, so we just decided to do our own little book discussion amongst ourselves over a meal or coffee. She was a very great person, and had an amazing personality.

She had even confided in me the details of her husband's death and how much she still was haunted by the lack of closure. She confessed her constantly worries over Peter. Caring for her deeply, I did my best to keep her distracted and be a good friend.

II

"Happy Birthday, Ms. May!" I smiled brightly as she opened her front door.

May held a hand to her chest, apparently not expecting my exuberant greeting. "Oh, Rose!" She laughed, guiding me inside before noticing the wrapped canvas in my hands. "Oh, honey you didn't need to get me anything."

"Technically, I didn't _get_ it." I chuckled, handing it to her and waving to Peter as he came into the room. She gave me playful, narrow eyed look and shook her head before I waved my hands impatiently with a laugh. "Just open it already!"

With childlike excitement, she bit her lip and unwrapped it. When the gift was revealed, her jaw dropped slightly and she stared intently at the painting as her eyes flickered over every detail. "Oh, Rose..."

I bit my lip, hoping I hadn't made her sad. "I— I wanted to include your husband, but I'm sorry; I just didn't know how he looked like... I hope you still like it?"

She wiped a tear away from her eye as Peter took the painting and lifted it up to observe it also. May stood up and embraced me. "Oh, it's beautiful, Rose. I absolutely love it. Thank you."

I exhaled in relief, hugging her back.

"Wow." Peter whispered, looking at me and his aunt before setting it on the sofa. "You got my face just right."

Indeed, I had. There was no way I was going to mess up any of his handsome features. What I had painted had been a mental picture I had of a time I had seen Peter give Ms. May a very enthusiastic kiss on the cheek, causing her to laugh with pure affection. The moment I witnessed the moment, I wanted it captured on a canvas. I wanted her to have that memory exist as a timeless piece in her home.

I tucked my hair behind my ear, flattered at his reaction. "Yeah, I needed it to be perfect."

"And it is!" May responded, before patting Peter's stomach. "Peter, could you hang it there on that wall while I get ready for work?"

"Sure thing, Aunt May." Peter responded.

May turned back to me with a warm smile. "You spoil me too much, Rose."

"Nonsense!" I exclaimed, squeezing her arm. "You deserve it."

"Oh, stop it!" She scolded jokingly, obviously flattered. She picked up a book off the coffee table and handed it to me. "Here. I just finished it. You'll love it. It's a little slow in the beginning but it picks up soon after. I have to get ready for work, but don't feel like you have to go. You can help Peter hang it up."

I flipped through the book May handed me and nodded. "Sure, no problem. And thank you. I've heard good reviews on this one."

After another hug, May went upstairs, leaving me alone before Peter came in with a hammer and nails. I got off the sofa and walked to him with my arms crossed. "I'm apparently assisting you in this extraneous task."

"Well, you'd better prepare yourself." He said in mock seriousness. "It can be strenuous."

He lifted his arms and began hammering in the nails, causing his shirt to ride up a little. I had a great view of a very chiseled and toned abdomen and I couldn't avert my gaze. He had been completely unaware of my oogling— that is, until he asked me to hand him the painting.

Mortified at being caught, I tried to hide behind my hair as I gave him the painting but I didn't miss the smirk on his face. There was something about his laugh that made that feeling of familiarity flare up in my gut again. It wasn't until I stepped closer to him that I could smell his scent. I was almost knocked out by it because I _knew_ that smell.

It was what attracted me to Spider-Man. It was _his_ scent. I looked at Peter wide eyed, completely dumbfounded at my own stupidity at not connecting any dots. The first conversation we had the day my grandmother died, the way May had told me Peter was always out and how she was worried he was involved in something dangerous by the injuries he sported on a regular basis. _Oh, my god!_ How had I never put the damn pieces together!? Sure, Peter and I weren't extraordinarily close, but I visited their house frequently, and it was Spider-Man to which I was close to. _Very_ close to.

"Oh, my gosh..." I whispered horrified, stepping back. Peter finally looked at me quizzically, the smirk gone now.

"You okay?"

I disregarded his concerned tone, and became extremely confused. Within the timeline of our first kiss, Spider-Man and I had initiated two more kisses the following weeks after, and during that time here I was coming over to the Parker's house. Did he know about me? Did he know I was Shadow?

"I need to go." I hurriedly grabbed my bag, and rushed to the door, ignoring Peter calling my name. I practically bolted out of the house and high tailed it to my apartment. Surely, he couldn't know it was me, right? Spider-Man had been in my apartment, _not_ Peter. But now they were one in the same man. Did he know it was me? The girl who tagged along his Aunt May? I had never before been unmasked in front of Spider-Man, so he couldn't know...

When I entered my studio apartment, I began to pace like a madwoman. I liked Peter. I was completely attracted to him, but I had forced myself not to get too close because I had thought I was getting involved with Spider-Man. But now Peter was Spider-Man... So I was getting involved with Peter!? He was handsome, he was funny, and he was caring. What if this completely betrayed his trust toward me? Would he think I was only interested in Spider-Man?

"Oh, god..." I groaned, putting my hands over my face. A knock on my window caused me to jump back, startled.

And who do you figure was there?


	7. Chapter 7

Peter POV

Peter literally had no idea what had happened. Did he do something offensive? He wondered as he watched Rose rush out his door. He ran upstairs, and put his suit on.

"I'm leaving, Peter!" He heard his aunt call outside his door.

He put his mask on and called out. "Okay, bye Aunt May!"

"Love you. There's leftover casserole in the fridge. And do not get into any trouble, young man!" She warned, before he heard her walk down the stairs.

"I won't!" He called out, opening his window, "Love you, too!"

He quickly shot himself away from his home and made the short trip to Rose's apartment, squatting on her windowsill. He knocked lightly, looking around to make sure nobody was watching him and saw Rose jump at the sound before she rushed to the window to open it. Peter crawled in, "Thanks."

He was not expecting what happened next as her hand connected with his face.

He raised his hand to his cheek, and stared at her stunned. "You just slapped me."

"You bet your ass I did!" She retorted angrily. He noticed her hands clenching into fists, and he laughed nervously before backing up. "And if I don't get some answers, I'm going to do it again."

"Whoa, take it easy!" He held his hands up. "What's wrong?"

Her mouth dropped as an enraged squeak came out and she went to punch him in the arm, causing him to flinch. She did throw a good punch. "Do you notice something different about me?" _Punch_. "Huh?" _Punch_. "Anything?!"

He jumped up to the ceiling to avoid another hit and looked down at her angry form. That arm was going to be bruised, he thought surely. "Uh, yeah I obviously visited at the wrong time of the month." Before the last word left his lips, he knew he was going to pay for that smart ass comment.

He heard her growl before she looked around and grabbed a nearby broom. "Hey!" He yelled as she started swinging it at him. He jumped from wall to wall, knocking a few items off as she chased him around her small studio. "My _mask_! My mask is off! _That's_ what different!"

Oh, he realized. So it was. So, what? Then realization hit him. _Oh._

She pursed her lips. "How long have you known?"

He remained quiet and scratched the back of his neck, trying to think of the right thing to say to get out of this.

"How long..." She repeated as her voice quivered. "_Peter_."

He looked up at her then, and dropped his shoulders in defeat. The jig was up. His concern for Rose ultimately gave away his secret and he sighed. "I'm sorry."

She laughed humorlessly, looking away from him. "For what? Not telling me sooner, or not being able to keep it hidden longer?"

"I..." Peter was frustrated, not really knowing the answer himself. "I don't know. I'm sorry, Rose. Really."

She sniffled quietly, still looking away and he felt his heart clench painfully in his chest. He didn't want her to cry, especially since he would be the cause. "I mean, honestly... I'm half naked one night _kissing_ you, and then the next night I'm having dinner at your house and you don't _say_ anything?!"

He didn't have anything to say to that. He just hung his head guiltily. "I'm sorry."

The next thing he knew, he was pushed onto the bed and his brain short circuited. "Wha—," His mask was ripped off his face and suddenly Rose was on his mouth kissing him roughly. What the hell was happening? Whatever it was, he wasn't going to keep questioning it. Peter closed his eyes and put just as much force into the kiss, scooting back so Rose could lay atop him more comfortably.

She broke apart, breathing heavily and punched him again; however, much more soft this time. "You know how many times I wanted to ask you_, Peter Parker_, out on a date, but couldn't because I felt guilty? Like... I would be somehow going behind Spider-Man's back or something..."

Peter grinned, her words giving his confidence a boost and he tilted his head down while feeling a little smug and also a bit excited. "You wanted to ask me out?"

She rolled her eyes, but her blush gave away her true feelings. "Oh, don't act so surprised. You're basically the epitome of a great guy. Minus the wisecracks."

His grin became wider if possible as he responded, "What? I thought you liked my smart mouth?"

She didn't answer; Just shook her head with a very small curve of her lip. "So... how long have you known?"

Of course Peter knew she was going to ask, so he figured he might as well be completely honest while they were in the position they were in. "Since the night we were introduced by Aunt May."

"You knew since New Year's?" She asked, eyes wide. Thankfully, not looking like she was going to attack him this time. "How?"

"Well, your red hair isn't exactly inconspicuous." He drawled out, running his fingers through her hair. "But then again, I can pick up things that others can't. Like a spider sense or something."

"What," She snorted in amusement, "Your Spidey senses were tingling?"

He smiled at her sarcasm but chose to ignore it as he went on, "And your eyes. Nobody has eyes like yours."

She scrunched her nose and looked away, embarrassed. "Thousands of people have my eye color."

"Not the color. Just...I don't know— they're gorgeous and... _you_." He trailed off, not really knowing how to explain it.

Rose stayed silent and chewed her lip before speaking slowly, "So... I think we should go out for dinner."

Peter raised an eyebrow, and gave a lopsided grin. "Oh really, how do you think Spider-Man will feel about you going on a date?" He teased, avoiding a smack to his arm. "You know, you're really violent. I think I'm seeing a whole other side to you."


	8. Chapter 8

After that day, Peter and Rose had gone on multiple dates. Well, if you counted getting a burger together after a night of putting criminals in their place a date. To Peter, things seemed to be looking up. After that day Rose had figured out he was Spider-Man, they both could easily enjoy each other's company without having walls up or any secrets to hide from.

He had told her about his parents, Dr. Connors, Electro— even about his love with Gwen.

"_There's always going to be a part of me that will hold onto that love. Forever."_

"_She sounded like a remarkable woman. I think she'd be really proud of you, Peter."_

He had confided in her about his fears and how he felt he would never have a normal life. He told her everything about his Uncle and how the guilt never left him for his death. During these weeks that they talked and became closer, Rose gave her comfort and support. She also recounted her experiences on where she had been during those incidents. Peter was so pleased there was someone he could connect with. Rose knew how he felt, to an extent.

Tonight, they were on their eleventh date. Sort of.

"Stop the truck!" Rose yelled, hanging off the driver's side of a truck that was speeding down the less crowded streets of New York. The man was leading cops on a high pursuit car chase. Peter was swinging above, ready to catch her at any moment and ready to save anyone who was at risk of being hit. Rose pulled her arm back and punched the window, shattering the glass everywhere.

"Get off!" The man yelled, shooting his elbow out to knock her off. Rose dodged his arm and retaliated, throwing her own punch before grabbing the wheel to keep from driving on the sidewalk where pedestrians stood and watched with various emotions. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be." She tried to reason.

The man grunted in anger and jerked the truck to the left sharply, trying to throw her off the vehicle. Peter saw a dog about twenty feet away about to become road kill. He sped up, and saved the clueless animal, and placed it back on the sidewalk before catching up again.

When he reached them he watched Rose climb atop the truck and kick her way through the passenger window. "Shadow!" He yelled, becoming a little worried. This wasn't really part of the plan.

The truck was swerving all over the place, and he decided to take a risk and end this chase for good; he just hoped this wouldn't do more damage than good. Without giving himself time to hesitate, he shot his web on the truck's bumper and jerked it to a sharp stop.

Unfortunately, he hadn't thought of what would happen to someone not wearing their seatbelt. His reflexes were fast as he heard the windshield break and Rose shot out, her body heading toward the ground with accelerated speed and force. He managed to grab her just before she made contact with the asphalt, and yanked her up to him.

Peter swung them up on top of a traffic light and looked down at Rose, checking her body for injuries. "You okay?" He breathed out feeling slightly winded by the events.

Rose nodded, though her face had drained of any color. "Uuugh... I feel sick."

He gave a guilty chuckle. "Sorry."

They both turned their heads as the sound of police sirens neared and circled the truck. The man's rights were being listed off by the cops as he was loaded onto the ambulance for his injuries.

"Hotdogs?" Peter suggested in her ear as they swung around the city.

"Oh! I want to check out the new taco truck by the theater!" Rose told him excitedly, clasping her hands together behind his neck as the nausea she felt dissipated.

Peter shook his head and chuckled lightly, changing directions. "You have an unhealthy obsession for Mexican food."

II

Later that night, Peter was lazily sitting on Rose's window ledge getting ready to head back home when she leaned closer to him and ran her hands up his chest. His breath caught in his throat and he bit back a moan as she pulled his head down and kissed him lightly through his mask. _This was a little different_, he thought as she applied just a bit more pressure over his concealed lips.

"Goodnight, Peter." She whispered against his lips before pulling back to close the window. He sat there, shocked and slightly winded. _He definitely had enjoyed that_, he mused, grinning goofily before making his way back home.

II

Rose POV

The click of my window's lock be unlatched caused me to wake up with a jerk and I held my breath as my mind went into alert. I kept my body from becoming rigid and pretended to be asleep while I reached my hand further under my pillow for the gun I had hidden between the mattress and headboard.

I strained my ears and heard light footsteps walk their way toward my kitchen counter and opened one eye just a bit to witness the figure of a tall stranger set something down on it.

Suddenly, the figure tensed up and I knew then they were aware I was awake and in mere seconds, they turned and headed back toward the window. I jumped out of bed and pointed my gun at the figure, ready to demand answers, but they were already gone. I ran to the window and looked out, gun still ready to be used if need be and frowned when I saw no one there. Feeling uneasy, I closed and locked my window before going to the counter to see read the note that had been left.

_Expect us. We know who you are._

I could have sworn my heart stopped, and I felt the fear paralyze me. Was I being threatened? Targeted? A thousand different scenarios ran through my brain and despite the fact that I could handle whatever might be thrown at me, the fact that there was someone who was aware of me..._Watching me_? Oh god! I was almost always with Peter! Even more so when we went out as Shadow and Spider-Man! What if they were going to do the same to him? Would May be in trouble?

_I had to warn him_, I thought as I yanked my phone off its charger and dialed his number. His voice sounded groggy on the other end and I knew my call woke him up. "_'Lo_?"

"Peter." My voice sounded clipped with urgency.

"_What's wrong? Are you alright_." His reaction to my tone was almost instantaneous as he sounded questioned with alertness.

"I think so." I answered, glancing back at my window, and then to the note in my hand. "Someone broke into my apartment, and left a note... For Shadow."

Silence.

"I wanted to call you to warn you to be careful." I continued, knowing his brain was probably in overdrive right now with this information. "I wanted to make sure you and May are alright. You know, in case they plan to leave _you know who_ a little message as well."

"_I just checked on Aunt May_." He said, with a heavy sigh. I could almost see him rubbing his face tiredly. "_She's sleeping, she's alright_."

"Good." I breathed out in relief. "Sorry to wake you."

"_Don't be sorry."_ He answered seriously, "_Do you need me to go over there?_"

"No," I sat back down the bed and picked at a scab on my knee. I wasn't going to be sleeping any time soon. "I'm okay. You stay with May. I can handle myself."

"_I'll be there as soon as I drop Aunt May off at the Hospital."_

I nodded, then realized Peter couldn't actually see me and replied, "Okay. Goodnight, Peter. Stay safe."

"_You, too, Rose_."


	9. Chapter 9

**Rose POV**

There were three months of peace.

Three months of false security.

I was still aware that there was someone that might have be tracking me, but time was a funny thing; it made it easier to forget.

Peter and I were sitting in a diner on a date, finishing our meals as we watched the news that played through the television above the bar. Right now, the top story was about the new Stark tower. "You'd think a man who's notorious for doing what you and I do on a daily basis would be a little more subtle, wouldn't you?" I asked, watching the screen as Tony Stark himself rambled on about his tower and energy sources. He didn't impress Rose in the slightest.

Peter shrugged and finished the rest of his burger. "I'm just glad he hasn't mentioned anything about us. We aren't exactly subtle ourselves."

"At least we keep our identities hidden." I responded quietly as my eyes lowered to meet his. "He's basically putting a giant target in the city." For as many enemies Iron Man had, there was the unsettling feeling that followed at his arrival to New York.

Peter raised an eyebrow at me and gave me a look. "New York is always a target, Rose."

I sighed, knowing he was right. "It's just unsettling, is all."

"_I'm Virginia Potts with Stark Industries, and I am thrilled to be here. It's not—"_

My head snapped toward the screen, causing Peter to stare at me questionably. He was asking me what was wrong but all I could do was stare at the woman standing in front of the nearly finished building with wide eyes. "Oh, my gosh! Peter, that's my sister."

I saw him look at the screen with much more interest than he had the entire time we'd been here and he furrowed his brows. "She works for Tony Stark?"

"I—I guess so." I replied quietly. Of course, I wasn't _too_ upset by this because the only communication I'd had were those three letters and I hadn't gone to the construction site when it was first being built like she'd offered. I stood up quickly and wiped the crumbs off my lap, eager to leave. "Would you like to walk me home, good sir?"

Peter could tell I was trying to change the subject and graciously went along with it. He grabbed my hand and dipped me low for a dramatic kiss. "I think I could fit a walk to your place into my schedule."

I shrieked with laughter when I felt his fingers pinch my side. He knew I was ticklish there, and loved to torture me. I tried to pry away from his grip, but he was too strong for me. "P-Peter! Stop it! People are _staring_!"

"_Oh_!" Peter replied with a mischievous tone, causing an uneasiness in my gut. "You don't want the people to be uncomfortable with our PDA?" I shook my head no.

"Peter! _Peter_, get down!" I laughed, trying to pull him down as he stepped up onto the diner's chair. He cleared his throat dramatically, preparing to make a speech and I watched on in a mix between awe and embarrassment.

"May I have everybody's attention!" He called out loudly, getting the nearby customers to look over at us. I felt giddy and mortified all at the same time. _What was he doing?_ "I would first like to thank the chef for this delicious meal- the bacon was sublime; muah! Secondly, I would like apologize for the public display of affection I've presented with this beautiful woman to my right."

My face was on fire. There were whispers of people looking amused and other looking annoyed and I buried my head in my hands, not knowing whether to punch or kiss Peter for that fact. "Thank you, and God bless America."

"I cannot believe you did that!"

He just laughed in response before throwing his arm over my shoulders and leading me away from the various stares of the public.

**II**

"Will I see you tonight?" I asked Peter as we leaned against my front door. My back was pressed against the wood, and he had one hand on my waist and the other in my hair. My eyes closed as I breathed in his intoxicating scent and I nearly swooned right then and there.

Peter pushed his forehead against mine and nodded. "Absolutely. But I have to go now. Jameson wants me in his office right away... No doubt ready to chew my ass out for the delay in Spider-Man photos. Just another day to hear about our favorite vigilante being a hoodlum."

My head fell against the door as I barked out a laugh at that. "It sounds like a very important meeting! You'd better hurry, then. It's good to be informed of the hoodlums out here these days."

Peter squeezed me tighter and bit my ear lobe gently, "You better be careful or I might just throw in a couple insider scoops on Shadow."

"You had better not, Peter Parker!" I giggled, lightly smacking his arm. My hand lingered on his muscle, rubbing it up and down before giving a small pout. "Alright, you'd better actually get going or you'll be late."

Peter leaned down to give me a soft kiss and the butterflies in my stomach fluttered all at once. "See you tonight."

"Okay," I whispered, trying not to get lost into those brown doe eyes of his. "See you."

After I walked into my apartment and made my way toward my bed, I immediately froze at the sight of a woman sitting at my table. She had medium hair, a strong and feminine build, and a lack of any type of emotion on her face.

"You've been following me." I clenched my jaw, not letting my eyes leave her form as she stood up. In her hand was a thick folder and I walked slowly to my nightstand, hoping to reach the gun I had in there before she could get closer.

The woman nodded, and spoke with a soft but warning tone. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I paused for only a second before running to grab the gun. She was quicker than me, kicking me to the wall and throwing my balance off. I bounced back and shot my leg out, kicking her feet from under her. This woman was expertly skilled, but so was I. She twisted my arm around my back and pushed me up against the brick wall, her front pushed into my back. "I just want to talk, Ms. Evans."

"Oh," I laughed sarcastically, "Is that what this is? A nice girl talk?" I slammed my head back, hitting her and causing her to stumble while giving me the split second to reach my gun. I never got a chance to lift it, however because in that moment a sharp pain to my neck had me halt movement entirely. I looked to my right and saw a man lowering what appeared to be a gun to his side and reached up to yanked... a dart_(!?)_ out of my neck. Suddenly, my body felt warm and the last thing I remember was the man rushing the catch me as I stumbled into darkness.

**II**

**Peter POV**

Peter had a slight skip in his step. Today had been a good day. Sure, Jameson tried to rip Spider-Man a new one through some articles, but that did not deter Peter's good mood. Tonight was the night. He was going to ask Rose tonight if she would be his girlfriend – _officially_. Upon walking up the steps to his house, he stopped at the call of his name. When he turned around, Peter saw a man dressed in a nice suit standing outside a stretched black car, his hands clasped in front of him.

Peter pulled out the one headphone he had in his ear and walked slowly to the man. He was suspicious, but also curious. Was Oscorp sending men to his house? "Can I help you?"

The man stuck his hand out, giving Peter a firm handshake as he introduced himself. "Agent Phil Coulson."

Peter's suspicion began to rise at that. Why was an agent coming to his home? Calling him by his full name? This was not good at all. He would have to play cool. "Oh, uh, what can I do for you?"

This agent didn't skip a beat. "How about we take drive and talk privately?" He turned slightly and motioned to the car.

Peter pursed his lips and adjusted his backpack before looking the man straight in the eyes. "As fun as getting in a car with a complete stranger sounds, I'm going to go ahead and pass on that."

Without replying, the agent opened the door only to reveal an unconscious Rose laid across the seat. Peter's heart stopped, and he felt himself prepare to attack. The agent continued, however nonplussed, "I would ask that you reconsider, Mr. Parker."

The agent didn't seem to set off any of his 'spidey senses' as Rose had called it, but that didn't mean anything to him while he saw her in potential danger. "We aren't the bad guys." Phil tried to reason, opening the door wider.

Peter clenched his jaw and started thinking of all the ways he could get himself and Rose out of the situation, but none would do much good since they obviously knew too much about them. Making the decision to hear them out, he gave a stiff nod and got into the vehicle with the agent directly in tow.

When he sat down he noticed another person inside as well. She was redheaded woman who gave him no greeting or acknowledgement whatsoever. He gathered Rose in his arms and pulled her into his lap tenderly. With relief, Peter realized no harm had come to her and she was merely asleep.

"She should be waking up soon." Phil told him, looking emotionless. "She'll be okay."

Peter looked back at Coulson with a dark glare and grit out, "I'm here. So start talking."


	10. Chapter 10

"So what exactly does S.H.I.E.L.D want with Spider-Man?" Peter asked after been explained a truckload of information in a very short amount of time. "What do you expect me to do about this Tesseract thing?"

Phil Coulson looked at Peter and answered thoughtfully. "The Tesseract was taken out of the ocean by Howard Stark while they were searching for Mr. Rogers. The Tesseract could be a key to unlimited sustainable energy. Meaning, if it's in the wrong hands, it could be fatal not only nationally, but _globally_. And to answer your question, we need backup, Mr. Parker. We need heroes."

"That's why you and Ms. Evans are being called in." The woman with red hair spoke up for the first time.

Peter looked through the files and let eyes graze over the three profiles about a Dr. Bruce Banner, who apparently turned into a giant green monster with serious anger management problems, the infamous Tony Stark as Iron Man, and a man in a very patriotic suit named Steve Rogers.

"I'm not a hero though," A small voice spoke, causing the three in the vehicle to look at Rose as she lifted her face from the crook of Peter's neck, revealing the fact she had been awake long enough to hear that last bit of information.

"Hey," Peter whispered softly, brushing his hand over her face. "You okay?"

Rose nodded, looking anything but and answered lowly. "Never better. You throw a mean punch..."

The other woman barely gave a hint of a smile. "Natasha Romanov."

"Pleasure."

Phil Coulson picked up where Rose had left off and answered her question. "You've spent a considerable amount of your time risking your life to help save the people in this city, Ms. Evans. You don't consider that heroic?"

Rose rubbed her eyes and sat up straighter. "What I mean is, if you're calling these other guys in... They all have some type of ability or power, whereas I have none. I don't have an advantage like them, so why even make an invitation to join this mission if you have more capable employees who would do a better job?"

Phil smiled at her. "To be frank, this is a situation that requires the best able bodied men and women. We're calling you in because your skills are something that can be of help, despite the fact you can't turn into a green rage monster."

"But she can choose not to." Peter spoke up in a serious tone. He didn't want her in on this. It sounded far too dangerous, and while he knew Rose was capable at protecting herself, it just seemed like this was bigger than both of them.

Rose knew Peter didn't want her to join, but she was in fact very interested. She was absorbing all the information and spoke before Coulson could answer. "I'm in."

She felt Peter's body tense under her, but refused to make eye contact lest she lose her resolve. "You don't want to even think it over?" He asked into her ear. Rose shook her head, looking down.

"Peter, this is bigger than New York." She responded lowly, knowing the woman and Coulson were listening, but gave the appearance of turning away in false privacy. She continued, knowing Peter was probably a bit irked at her prompt decision. "You heard what he said. I mean, think about it—,"

"I _am_, Rose." He cut her off, sounding angry. "I _am _thinking about it. Are you? Do you know what you're agreeing to?"

"You don't think I can handle myself?" She argued, causing him to sigh in frustration.

"Don't make this about that! You know I don't think that. I just..." He ran his fingers through his messy locks in irritation. "I care about you... I can't lose another person. I can't lose you..."

Rose cupped his face in her hands and finally made eye contact. She felt her attitude crumble into understanding as she saw the worry, fear, and hesitation in his eyes. "Peter, I _know_. Trust me... Trust me, please."

After a few tense moments, he threw his head back against the cushion and groaned. "Fine. Fine, count me in, too. But on one condition."

Natasha gave a curious look, "And that is?"

"I need someone to look after my Aunt May while I'm gone." Peter spoke seriously. "Just someone there to make sure she's out of harm's way."

After sharing a look with Natasha, Coulson nodded. "We'll send her somewhere safe, Mr. Parker."

Peter gave a nod in thanks but still looked conflicted. Rose looked out the window when she realized they were entering a type of military base. "Were you counting on us saying yes, Agent?" She asked turning around to look at Coulson.

He only gave a small smile. "I was hoping."


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you those of you who have reviewed! You are spectacular and I am so happy you continue to like this story. This is a bit of a filler chapter, but of course I'll post another one fairly soon. Also, I saw the new X-Men movie today. I was literally hanging onto my boyfriend and absorbed into the story. It was really good, I highly recommend it :) Anyhoo, enjoy!**

* * *

**Peter POV**

After getting out of the car, Rose and Peter followed closely behind the two agents toward a quinjet. Agent Coulson turned toward the two as they approached the aircraft. "This is where I leave you with Agent Romanov."

"Where are you going?" Rose asked, feeling out of place in these new surroundings. "And what about our stuff?"

"Your things will be waiting for you. I have some other business to attend to." He answered, nodding to them both, and then to Natasha. "I will see you all soon."

Peter looked around as they entered the aircraft, readying himself for anything that might go wrong. He was hyper aware of his surroundings and focused his senses to be on high alert. He still didn't trust these people fully, so he was going to try to keep himself and Rose protected if the situation turned bad.

**SMSMSM**

"We call it the Helicarrier." Agent Romanov spoke, smiling at the expressions on the young couple's faces.

Peter was quite impressed and looked around at everything. "So… what now?"

Natasha gestured to an older man a few feet away from where they were walking toward. "Mr. Parker, Ms. Evans, meet Doctor Banner. He's going to be assisting us in locating the Tesseract."

The older man seemed very soft spoken and reserved, Rose thought. But she wasn't going to fool herself. She and Peter had read about and seen footage of the other guy, Hulk. Dr. Banner held his hand out giving both Peter and Rose handshakes.

"Pleasure to meet you both." He said with a smile, adjusting his glasses.

"Same to you." Rose spoke slowly, appearing cautious.

"Uh, same. Hopefully we won't have the privilege to meet your other greener half." Peter grinned, rubbing the back of his neck.

Rose turned to him wide eyed and smacked his arm. "Peter!"

He held his hands up. "What? I didn't mean it offensively!"

Doctor Banner chuckled at the pair, obviously not offended. "Don't worry, Ms. Evans, I promise comments about the other guy is far from setting me off."

Rose licked her lips, which Peter knew was a habit she did when she was nervous. "Sorry, I just… This is all sort of.. new for me, I guess. And please call me Rose."

Doctor Banner smiled in understanding. "In that case, call me Bruce. And don't worry, I don't blame you. All of this does seem a little unreal to me, as well. If someone had told me a month ago I'd be aboard an isolated ship filled with people, I'd have laughed in their face."

"If you don't mind," Peter began, his tone a little more serious. "When was the last time you lost control?"

Bruce made a face and looked up before answering. "A little over a year ago."

The answer seemed to suffice for Peter as he turned to Natasha. "Is our stuff anywhere around here?"

She nodded, "I can show you your rooms. Follow me."

Peter and Rose bid their goodbyes to Bruce before being led into the ship After a few confusing turns and corridors, she stopped in front of a plain white door. "This is the sleeping quarters. Mr. Parker this is your room, you'll find your things already inside. And Ms. Evans yours is right next door, your stuff as well."

She handed them two clear, plastic cards. "These will open your rooms. Someone will come in a few hours to escort you to the Bridge when everyone else appears."

With that, the agent turned and walked away.

Peter stepped closer to Rose and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Are you getting an eerie feeling, or is it just me?"

Rose bit her lip and nodded her head. "Yeah, I don't feel like these people are a threat to us, but I just don't really trust them either. I mean, think about it… How long have they known who we are without saying anything? It doesn't sit right with me, but I'm hoping once this is over, we can get back to our lives."

She walked into her room, Peter in tow. With relief, she saw a small bag on the bed and opened it to find essentials and most importantly, her suit. She looked over her shoulder at Peter and smiled at his inspection of every little thing in the room. "I think I'm going to put my suit on… just in case."

Peter pursed his lips and nodded before jumping onto the bed, landing on his back. She gave him a look. "Aren't you going to put yours on?"

He lowered his shirt and revealed the red material underneath. Of course, she thought with a small smile before walking into the bathroom to change. When she came out, fully dressed minus her boots and mask, she fought a giggle at the now passed out Peter on her bed. She crawled up next to him, listening to his soft snores, and curled into him, feeling safe as he unconsciously pulled her to him.

She was out like a light.

* * *

Please review :)


	12. Chapter 12

What, what!? Another chapter? Hooray! Haha! Everyone who is invested with this story, just wanna say you're awesome and stay awesome! :) Hope you enjoy!

* * *

It was his senses that caused Peter to awaken with a jolt. Something nearby had his spider senses in a tizzy. He looked down at Rose, debating on waking her up or not, and then opting not so he wouldn't compromise her strength or energy. He looked at the clock and noticed it had been about an hour since they'd been brought to their rooms.

He felt amusement at the fact he hadn't even technically stepped into his room yet. He slowly pulled his arm out from under Rose, trying to keep from waking her. "Ahhhh!" He whispered, grabbing his arm as the blood began rushing through it. He really hated when his arms fell asleep on him.

Getting up, he gave his arm a shake before walking over to the door.

"Peter,"

He turned at the soft call of his name. Peter walked back toward the bed, seeing Rose begin to wake up. He crouched down near her side, and smiled at her drowsy face. "Hey."

She sat up slowly and yawned. "How long were we out?"

"About an hour."

There was a knock on the door and Peter got up to answer while Rose sat at the edge of the bed to put her boots on. She grabbed her mask and slipped it into a small pocket in her belt.

"There you are." A man spoke as Peter opened the door. "I'm Agent Rodriguez. You two are needed by Director Fury. If you'd follow me."

After following the man, they approached a lab room where Doctor Banner was sitting, looking intensely focused in his work. There was a woman and an intimidating man with a long coat and eye patch who greeted both of them as they entered.

"Peter Parker," The man spoke, circling Peter, as if sizing him up. "New York's favorite vigilante."

"Glad I've made an impression." Peter replied, tucking his hands in his pockets, holding the man's gaze with no intimidation.

Director Fury turned his eye to Rose who stood directly behind Peter. "And Evans. The girl who willingly stepped in Spider-Man's place while he was AWOL for five months."

"Nice meeting you." She said, unsure of what to make of this man.

"So, what possessed you to create this Shadow character of yours? We know about Peter's bug bite, and Banner's accident.. But you… You don't have powers, you're not a spy. No known history in our database of working for any agencies in your past. So what?" He asked, folding his arms. This question peaked the interest of everyone in the room, she realized as even Doctor Banner looked up from his work to hear what she'd say.

She looked at Peter, who was also staring curiously at her for an answer. "Well… I guess I saw the effects of Spider-Man being gone and wanted to help those who couldn't help themselves."

"Ms. Evans, I've been doing this job a very long time. I've seen a lot more than you might ever see in a lifetime. And I know that normally, a twenty year old painter with the skill of a sixth degree blackbelt in martial arts is highly uncommon. So again I ask, what was the reason?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at the man. "I've already told you. As far as my skills go, my father taught me at an incredibly young age how to fight. It's part of me. It's how I was raised. I was brought up with the belief to fight for those who can't fight for themselves."

Director Fury nodded. "Good." Suddenly, he turned to Peter. "Parker, suit up. You and Rogers are leaving in twenty to Stuttgart, Germany. Loki's going to making an appearance that we don't want to miss."

"When I pictured myself traveling around the world, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Peter joked a bit solemnly. He looked down thoughtfully, and Rose made a mental note to question him later about it.

"And what of me?" She asked as Fury began to exit.

"Agent Hill will send someone to take you to the training room." He said, ignoring her look of disappointment. "Because you haven't been doing this for long, we want to test your strength and your limits. Your training will begin once you've said your goodbyes."

Agent Hill walked to Peter. "You remember where the hangar is?"

Peter nodded, "Uh, yeah. Yeah. I'll be out there in fifteen."

Satisfied with his answer, the Agent turned her heel and left the room, leaving only Doctor Banner, Peter and Rose. He grabbed Rose by the waist, and brought her against him. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you didn't really like One Eyed Willy's decision to leave you out of this mission."

"One eyed Willy?" She raised a brow, smiling at him. He only lifted his hand to cover his eye and grinned at her. "I want to go with you guys, but I guess it will be beneficial to train."

"Don't get into trouble while I'm gone." He said, lowering his lips to hers. She closed her eyes at his kiss, and ran her hands up his chest to the back of his neck.

"I should be the one telling you that." She said breathlessly when they broke apart. He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.

"In all seriousness, though, please be safe." She spoke softly, trying not to think about the what ifs of this mission he was going on. Rose knew Peter could adapt to any problem thrown at him, but that didn't make him invincible. And he was going up against a demigod.

"Rose, you know me. You know safe isn't in my vocabulary."

She knew he was just joking to ease her worry, but it didn't help. Rose looked him in the eyes, and said, "I'm serious, Peter. You're my… you're my best friend. Promise me you won't make any stupid decisions? And try to work as a team player!"

He held a hand to his chest, pretending offense. "I am the epitomy of a team player!"

"You are more stubborn than a mule." She deadpanned. He grinned at her, and brought her closer to him.

Peter kissed her again, more passionately this time, and didn't stop until an uncomfortable Bruce Banner cleared his throat.

With a pat to her head, Peter walked backward toward the door and gave a salute. "Doctor Banner, sorry about that. Rose, make good choices." And with that, he turned around and jogged out the door.

"Bring me a souvenir!" Rose called out jokingly, knowing Peter would hear. She turned to Bruce and rubbed her arm sheepishly. "Uh, sorry about that. He's not one for subtlety."

Bruce adjusted his glasses and gave her a smile. "It's alright. I was a teenager in love at one point as well."

Rose didn't respond. The word love had her kind of speechless. She thought it best to avoid the conversation altogether. She turned on her heel and pointed toward the door. "Well, I guess I have to go train and stuff."

"Have fun." Bruce said, looking over his glasses.

"Oh, yeah." She replied under her breath. "I'm sure I will."

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	13. Chapter 13

I truly, honestly thank all of you who continue to review and enjoy this story :) Thank you for your support and suggestions! Next chapter is here, hope you like!

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**Rose POV**

I didn't know how long I'd been training, but my muscles were screaming for rest, and I felt the roots of my hair drenched in sweat. It had to have been _hours_. Director Fury didn't relent though, as he sent another group of men in to challenge me. "Really?" I looked toward the mirror, knowing the Director was watching from the other side.

I had been put in almost every situation so far, combatively speaking. Some men and women had guns, swords, nun chucks, daggers, and even throwing stars. I had been struck a few times, resulting in a few cuts and bruises, but it only made me push myself harder to finish.

My body was starting to protest against the continuous strain I was putting it through. I raised my arm to wipe the sweat on my forehead, not prepared for the last man in the room to get me in a choke hold. I tested his hold on me, and realized he wasn't budging. Since we were facing the walls, I gripped his forearms and put all the strength I had into my core, and balanced my weight against his chest as I used the wall in front of me to flip over him, and kicked him into the wall, before dropping my stance and turning to the mirror. "Break?"

"Well executed." Fury's voice spoke over a speaker. "You're free to go."

I nodded in thanks before walking to the man picking himself off of the floor. I offered a hand which he accepted and helped him get his balance. "Sorry for that. I didn't mean to kick you that hard."

He gave a chuckle and rubbed his midsection where my boot had collided. "I've had worse before. Don't worry about it." With a forced smile, I grabbed a water bottle, and exited the training room in search of a shower.

Making my way down the hall, I paused at the lab room where Doctor Banner was, and knocked lightly, getting his attention. "Knock knock."

Bruce snapped his head my direction before giving me a tight smile. "Looks like you had a rough night."

I could only imagine how I looked. With a laugh, I clutched my water bottle in my hands and played with the label. "Probably a walk in the park compared to what Peter might be doing right now."

"Well, it's only been about six hours, so they have a little bit of time before they reach Germany." Bruce responded.

That really didn't help with my anxiousness. I was beside myself with worry for Peter. Perhaps, if I had to admit, even experiencing a little separation anxiety from him. The past couple months, we'd been practically inseparable. So maybe this was a good thing.

_He's walking into a battle with an alien in unfamiliar surroundings and you think that's a good thing? _Oh, shut up, me.

"Worrying about Parker?" Bruce asked, taking his glasses off and cleaning the lenses on the hem of his shirt.

I sat in the empty chair next to him, and groaned. "I make it pretty obvious?"

Bruce smiled, "Just a little."

"I know it's silly considering he does this all the time… But, this time he's not.. Here, you know?" I tried explaining. Looking at Doctor Banner, I noticed he was staring at me with an unreadable expression. "What?"

"Do you want to be here?" He asked, with a slight frown to his face.

I furrowed my brows. Did I? I thought about it. I wanted it to go to how it had been a few days ago. I wanted to be working on a new piece, I wanted to be roaming the familiar streets of New York, I wanted to be discussing a new book with Ms. May, and I wanted to be walking the streets with Peter, eating tacos. "No." I said, finally. "No, I don't. But it's not about what I want."

"You were given a choice to come or stay, right?" Bruce questioned.

I nodded, and then made a gesture with my hand. "It'd feel weird to say no to something like this, you know? I know Pete did not want to come… I feel responsible for him and whatever happens now because he didn't want to be here to begin with."

"I don't know either of you very well, but from what I've observed, you have to know he probably wouldn't want you thinking that way."

"Of course he wouldn't!" I agreed, feeling the shake of my shoulders. "He's just this amazing guy who is the kindest, most caring, and considerate man I've ever met."

I saw a small smile on Bruce's face, before adding, "No offense, Doc."

He laughed, and crossed his arms while leaning back on his chair. "Trust me, I am none of those things."

I frowned at his response. "I highly doubt that."

"You don't know me." He said lowly, looking away. "You don't know what I've done."

He was right. I didn't know him. I knew of Hulk, but not really Bruce. "I know, it's just… guys who aren't caring or considerate don't generally allow a girl to talk to them about their feelings, and then offer advice."

Bruce gave a small laugh. "Well, let's consider me an okay listener. But don't get any ideas of me saying 'and how does that make you feel?'. I'm not that kind of Doctor."

I laughed. "And we can add a good sense of humor to the list!"

Bruce seemed more at ease, and almost as if he hadn't properly had genuine human interaction in months. "Why are you in here, Rose?" He didn't sound rude, or offensive. Just curious.

I gave a small shrug, and played with the tip of my ponytail, fingering the split ends. "I… You remind me of someone."

He looked interested at my response, so I continued for the sake of saving an awkward silence. "My dad. You remind me of him. Well, my foster dad. He was a very professional man, but had a really great personality when not hiding behind all his work."

"So I look old enough to be a father, huh?" Bruce joked after a few moments of silence.

"No!" I laughed, while getting out of my seat. I really had to pee, and although this was a nice conversation I was having, duty called. "You don't look a day over twenty-five!"

He waved his right hand to me, shooing me out of the room. "Yeah, yeah."

I smiled at him, and turned to leave, happy that I had made him smile genuinely since I came here earlier that day. I stopped at the door when he called my name, "Yes?"

Bruce had already looked like he was going to get straight back to work. "Try not to worry too much, okay?"

I gave a nod, and sent him a smile. "I'll do my best, Doc."

When I got to my room, and had a nice shower, I crawled into bed. My muscles ached, and my wounds were a bit tender. I pulled my phone out, and browsed through the internet a bit, and checked my texts. Nothing.

"Ow!" I mumbled as the phone slipped in my grasp and landed on my face. I hate when that happens. I listened to a voicemail May left, about being worried about Peter and I, and I felt the guilt hit me with full force. I hadn't been considerate enough to think about Ms. May all day. I was sure S.H.I.E.L.D had her somewhere safe, away from the craziness for now and what was about to come.

I hesitated slightly over the send button on my phone, rereading my message to Peter.

_Be safe. I miss you. _

I pressed send, and got myself comfortable in the mess of blankets and pillows. With a short time, I welcomed the soothing darkness that enveloped me in sleep.

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I know things seem a bit slow now, but I assure you the story will begin to pick up soon. :) Please review


	14. Chapter 14

**Oh, thank you to all those who are following and favoriting my story! I really appreciate it! And a special thank you to those who review and have messaged me, I so enjoy hearing your feedback and even suggestions! Thank you! Here's a new chapter, enjoy!**

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_"Gotcha!" Rose laughed, pouncing on the large German Sheppard. _

_The dog wrestled in her grasp and gave a playful nip to her arm. She laughed and released him, setting the hyper dog on another chase through the house. Rose ran after him, and turned the corner, immediately bumping into her mom at full speed. _

"_Rose!" Her mother exclaimed, winded, as the child collided into her. "What have we discussed about running in the house?" _

_Rose held her mother's skirt, and looked down guiltily. "Um.. To not to.." _

"_That's right, darling. Come, your father is looking for you." Her mother grabbed the five year old's hand and led her into her father's study. "Johnathan." _

_Rose's father looked up from his desk, and smiled at Rose. "Flower, come here." _

_Rose ran to her father and laughed as he lifted her onto his lap. "Rebecca, close the door, please." _

_Her mother gave one last look, and complied. After her mother left, Johnathan grabbed his daughter's chin affectionately and asked, _"_How are you doing today, my flower?"_

"_Mom caught me running. I'm not in trouble am I?" _

_Her father laughed at Rose's sad expression, as she was the master at giving him a notorious 'puppy eyed' stare that melted his heart on every occasion. "No, you're not in trouble, love. I just want to ask you something. Can you pay very close attention to what Daddy has to ask?" _

_Rose squinted her eyes, looking thoughtful. "Okay. I will, Daddy." _

_Her father adjusted her on his lap and stroked her hair. "Flower… I need you to tell Daddy what happened yesterday at dinner time. Can you do that?" _

_Rose sat, thinking. "I almost dropped my milk. And I was scared mommy was gonna be mad so I made it stop." _

"_Yes," Her father murmured quietly. "But, do you know how you stopped the milk from falling?" _

_Rose shook her head exaggeratedly. "I don't know, Daddy. I just say stop, and I picked up the cup so it won't hit the floor. Cause mommy will make me clean, and I don't like to clean it." _

_Her father looked at her, making her believe she was going to be in trouble. "But how? How did you do it, Rose?" _

_Her eyes started to water, believing she had done something wrong. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I won't do it again, I promise." _

"_Oh, no, my flower, I am not mad." He said soothingly. "Would you like to show Daddy how you stopped the milk?" _

_Rose sniffed. "Okay." _

_He placed her on the floor and grabbed a pen off his desk. Holding it up to her eye level, he grabbed her hand and spoke seriously. "Do you see this pen, flower?" When she gave a nod, he continued, "I'm going to throw it at the door, and I want you to stop it from falling, and put it back on my desk, okay?" _

"_Okay, Daddy." _

"_On the count of three. One… Two…" _

Rose woke up with a gasp in the back of her throat. She sat up, and caught her breath, thinking of her dream. A memory? With every moment she sat there thinking about it, the more it faded in the back of her mind. She ran a hand through her hair, feeling the tangles, and couldn't anymore recall the dream she had.

She reached under her pillow and pulled out her phone. She had slept for quite a time, and there were no messages. _You are the worst texter ever, Peter. _She thought as she got up from the bed. Leaning down with a moan at the ache in her muscles, she picked up her suit from the ground and began to get dressed, hoping Peter and the rest were back already.

She walked out of her room and walked a door down, knocking for a few minutes. Either Peter was a heavy sleeper or he wasn't back yet.

Rose hurriedly made her way to the Bridge, hoping Director Fury would be there. To her relief, he was and she walked up to him slowly. "Director?"

Fury turned around, and glanced at her with his good eye. "Ms. Evans. Glad to see you finally woke up."

Rose blushed, knowing she'd slept a very long time. Her body was recovering, of course she was going to need some extra sleep. "Sir, has the team come back yet?"

He nudged his head to one of the cameras, and she followed his line of vision. "They're landing right now. Stay on your toes, Loki's unpredictable, and until we get him into a secure are, there's no telling what's up his sleeve."

Rose walked closer to the screen and saw about a dozen men escort Loki as he came out, into the ship. Close behind was Steve, Peter, Iron Man, and a very large, curiously dressed man that exited. "Who is that?" She asked, looking up at Fury.

"Loki's brother."

"Is he a threat?"

Fury looked frustrated. "Not as far as we know. But like I said, stay on your toes."

Rose nodded, feeling her heart beat faster with excitement as she knew she would see Peter soon. After a few minutes, Fury started walking out of the room, before speaking. "Evans, go fetch Banner. Meeting in ten minutes."

Rose nodded, and quickly made her way to the lab. Upon arriving, she knocked lightly and gave a wave to Bruce. He smiled at her. "You look well rested."

She shrugged. "I guess eleven hours of sleep will do that for a person."

Bruce looked out into the hallway. "I saw Loki come through. Guessing things went smoother than you'd feared."

Rose nodded, and crossed her arms. "And I also guess it's safe to say it's foolish to believe that's how it'll stay."

"How can I help you, Ms. Evans." He asked after a tense silence.

Rose unfolded her arms and stepped toward his desk. "Fury wants us for briefing. A meeting, I guess."

Bruce stood up, "Let's not waste time then."

After they left the room, before entering the bridge again, Rose saw Peter down the corridor, still in his suit. She couldn't help the smile on her face, and she ran to him, jumping into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Oof!" He huffed dramatically, causing her to laugh.

She leaned down, not bothering to lift his mask, and placed a kiss on his covered mouth. "Where's my souvenir?"

Peter laughed and lifted his mask off his head. "What? No 'how was your flight?', 'was the sightseeing spectacular?'. So selfish, Rose." He joked, as she lightly smacked his arm.

"I was worried about you." She responded, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead against his. "You ignored my text."

"Whaaat?" He said guiltily. "I could've sworn I texted you back…"

She shook her head at him, unable to fight a smile back. "You are such a liar. Typical man."

"My hands were full." Peter responded, kissing her softly.

An intentional, obnoxious cough broke through. "Save it for the bedroom, kids."

Rose turned her head and saw none other than the famous Tony Stark walking near them, toward the briefing room with Coulson close behind. She released her leg grip on Peter, and he lowered her to the floor. "Mr. Stark. I've heard so much about you."

"Of course you have. Everybody has." He said with a cocky grin.

Rose was unimpressed, and did not like his attitude, and sarcastically replied, "Are you always so modest?"

Tony stopped and turned to Peter. "Nice pickin', Web boy. Red heads are always the feistiest. If you know what I mean." He added with a wink.

"You should know, since my sister works for you right?" Rose said, ignoring the innuendo, and catching up with him as he continued walking. Peter and Coulson tailed behind.

Tony barely glanced at her and said, "A lot of people work for me, kid."

"But isn't Virginia Potts your assistant?" She asked, looking up at him.

At this, Tony stopped completely and faced her. He looked her up and down, and spoke. "So you're the kid sister. I thought you'd be taller."

Rose's eyes widened slightly. "Wait- how do you know about me? Has she talked about me?"

"Well, first of all, I do look up every deep, dark secret of my employees, and second, I'd be a bad boyfriend if I didn't know of my girlfriend's long, lost family. Also, she's CEO now, not assistant."

Rose looked down, wondering if Virginia had spoken of her, or he just knew of her through snooping. "Does she ever talk about meeting me?"

"Not really."

Rose felt a pang in her chest. Why would she feel bad? She was happy. She had a good life, and she didn't need a sister. Not really. But it'd feel nice if she could have one…

Peter put a hand on her shoulder, and sent a glare at Tony. It didn't matter because the older man paid no attention, and continued his talk with Agent Coulson as the two entered the briefing room.

"You okay?" Peter asked, searching her face.

"Yeah," Rose gave a weak smile. She wasn't lying. She was a bit hurt at what might never be, but okay? Yeah, she was okay. "I'm fine."

Peter hugged her, and felt a heat spread through his chest at the feeling of her arms around his waist with her face buried in his chest. "Let's go, we're already late for the meeting."

Rose nodded into his chest and groaned. "I wish they'd let us eat something before this meeting."

Peter chuckled as they entered the room. "We'll eat afterwards."

"Ugh, fine. Let's go."

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	15. Chapter 15

**THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE READING THIS STORY, YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! **

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Upon walking in the room, I knew we were a little late as everyone was looking extraordinarily serious, and Tony and Bruce were now shaking hands. "It's good to meet you Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And, I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

I refrained from rolling my eyes, but Peter seemed to think it was humorous as he cracked a smile.

Bruce looked down, "..Thanks."

Director Fury walked in behind Peter and I, almost startling me as he spoke loudly. "Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you and Parker might join him. The three of you."

Tony gave Peter a look, "Babysitting wasn't part of the plan."

"Considering you're the only one acting childish, I assume you're referring to Bruce and I taking care of you?" Peter retorted, crossing his arms. I looked up at Peter, fighting off a smile.

Tony walked closer to Peter, with his finger pointing at him. "You're growing on me, Webster."

As Steve and Fury spoke, I felt a pressure on my head. Almost like a penetration in my mind. Looking around, it didn't seem anything was wrong... What was this feeling? I clenched my jaw, this feeling was new... It was uncomfortable, like someone was trying to find me... I reached up and rubbed my temple, hearing something about monkeys.

Tony turned from Peter to Bruce, "Shall we play, Doctor?"

"Let's play some."

Tony looked expectantly at Peter. "You coming?"

I must have been slightly zoned out from focusing on the weird pressure of my head, because I practically jumped a foot in the air out of fright when the hand of Mr. Stark was waving it in front of my face. "Whoa, you better check your girl before you come to the lab, Webster."

I avoided Peter's concerned gaze, and smiled at Bruce who hesitantly put his hand on my shoulder. "You okay, Rose?"

I smiled at the three of them, thankful everyone else in the room were paying attention to different things. "Yeah. Yeah, sorry, I guess I…" I waved my hand in gesture as my sentence trailed off.

Tony was obviously done listening and Bruce nodded, satisfied with my answer. He looked at Peter, "We'll see you in the lab?"

Peter gave a single nod, and leaned toward me as the two left. "Hey, you okay? You looked kind of out of it for a second. Your eyes got all… different."

I raised my eyebrow teasingly, trying to lighten the worry as it was unnecessary. "You just like having an excuse to stare at my eyes, don't you?"

It worked. Peter's worried look was replaced by my favorite crooked, goofy smile. He looked around briefly before giving me a quick peck on the lips. "I don't need excuses to do that."

"Oh, really?" I chuckled, playfully challenging him.

He rubbed his hand over my cheek, a smug look in his eyes. "Yeah, really."

I closed my eyes and leaned forward, hoping for another kiss but the moment was interrupted.

"Evans!" Director Fury called out, causing Peter and I to jump apart. I ignored the groan Peter gave out, and my own disappointment while my cheeks reddened as now everyone left was staring at us. I did my best to avoid any eye contact with anyone. "Yes, sir?"

Director Fury crossed his arms and gave us both 'the look'. "I trust you and Mr. Parker can focus on the situation at hand and control your hormones?"

Peter beat me to an answer, and of course couldn't keep a serious tone. "Oh, absolutely Director. There will be no raging hormones on this bridge. No, sir!"

Fury looked unamused as he rubbed a hand over his face, "Get to the lab, Parker."

"Yes, sir!"

I bit my lip as Peter kissed my cheek and held his hands in mock surrender when Fury gave him a hard stare before he turned and jogged out of the room. Of course, Director Fury then turned his eye on me and raised a brow.

"What?" I defended, raising my hands.

"Training room with Natasha. Now."

I scrunched my face in distaste. "Ugh. Not the training room."

I stopped my whinging, and followed Agent Romanov. I didn't like the training room.

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**Ugh, I can't wait till I get deeper in the story, you guys! Please review! Thanks! **


	16. Chapter 16

You guys are simply the best! Please enjoy a new chapter! Also, I know things may seem a bit slow, but trust me, it's necessary for now. Things will pick up all in good time. :)

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"You're getting better."

I looked up from where my face had been almost smashed on the floor, and glared at the mirror, where I knew behind it Coulson was observing me. "Thanks." I ground out, irritated.

I was highly annoyed. My fighting was not up to par because of this damn twinge in my head. It would come and go, and now after almost a full day and several pills later, it hadn't let up. I accepted the hand of the agent who I was sparring with, and walked toward the mirror. "Coulson, please let me take a break. It's been forever."

"It's been three hours." I heard from the intercom.

I pursed my lips. "I have cramps."

A long pause. "I know you're lying, but if you're resorting to make menstrual excuses, then go ahead and break."

I threw my head back in relief. "Thank you!"

Upon walking into my room, the bed looked terribly seductive. But there was no way I was lying on it until I took a shower. Pulling on a pair of shorts and plain white tank, I flopped onto my bed and grabbed my phone. I scrolled through my contacts, _Dad. _

I hadn't spoken to my father in over a year. Not for bad reasons, but it was usually a phone tag between us, he was always to busy to answer my calls, and I was always asleep or painting when he called me. After the hospital, or rather Ms. May, who had offered, called about my grandmother's death, I hadn't received one phone call. Not one.

Frustrated, I tossed the phone aside, and rolled over hoping for a dreamless nap.

"_Johnathan!" Rose heard her mother yell frantically. _

_The child looked up at her father fearfully from the area she'd been coloring near his work desk. "Daddy?" _

_He knelt down and gently covered her mouth. "Shh. Shh, flower. Shh." _

_The sound of angry voices and glass from a window being shattered echoed in the large house. Rose felt the tears well up in her eyes and turned to her father again. "Daddy…" She whispered again, frightened. Jonathan gathered her in his arms and ran out of his office, meeting her mother in the hall. _

"_Stop supporting these freaks!"_

"_We can' t trust these muties!"_

"_If you're for them, you're against us!" _

_Rose buried her head in her dad's neck as she heard the angry yells from below. Jonathan turned to his wife, "Grab the reports on my desk and meet me in the garage. Hurry!" _

_Her mother grabbed the stack of folders on the desk, and ran to the garage. Her husband was buckling in their daughter, whispering calming things to her. "It's okay. All is well."_

_Rose sniffed and nodded her head. "Is this my fault?" _

_Rebecca looked at Jon, "No," He said adamantly. "Absolutely not. Sometimes people just can't accept those who are special." _

"_Let's go." Rebecca said sharply. Her husband climbed into the driver's seat and opened the garage door, praying the crowd of people would evade a moving vehicle as he backed out. On the road, Rebecca gave a wary look to her scared daughter. "Jon…" _

"_I know!" He snapped, causing her to jump. "I know." He repeated, more calmly, making sure he hadn't startled Rose. "I meant to put away the files, but how was I to know Corrine was going to be snooping through my office!" _

"_She's the cleaning lady, Jon!" Rebecca replied, scathingly. "I can't take this anymore! We can't have her here! It's dangerous for us!" _

"_What about her, Rebecca!?" Jonathan responded, angry. "You want to just put her back in the foster care!?" _

"_That's not what I'm saying, Jonathan, and you know it! She needs to be in a safe environment, where she isn't influenced to do this stuff. Somewhere controlled and away from most people! I'm telling you, my parents are more than thrilled to take her in New York. Please! I can't live like this anymore! You obsess over it! What about your wife, huh? Did you forget you had one since all __**this**__!?" _

_Jonathan clenched his jaw, and looked in the mirror, feeling his heart break at the realization his daughter had been listening to every word. "Rose…" _

"Rose!"

I jumped awake, the dream so real in my mind. My stomach was in knots, and I felt sick. Was this a memory? Why was I so out of touch with memories of my childhood? I got up from the bed, and slipped my boots, opening the door to see a short statured agent standing there. "Can I help you?" I asked politely.

"Yes, Agent Coulson said you needed some laundry taken to be cleaned?"

I looked at the few pieces of clothes and my suit that needed washing. "Oh, um, yeah thanks. Just these." I put them in a bag and handed it over. The man walked away, leaving me standing at my door, reeling from my own thoughts. Wanting to clear my mind, or at the very least distract me, I headed over to the lab. Maybe something new about the Tesseract had been discovered.

And maybe I'd get my mind off the dream I'd had.

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**kindleflame5:** Ahh! Sorry there was no fight between BW and Rose! I'll do my best to fit one in as I have future chapters already written out. Thank you for your review and your interest with the story! :)

**Rissa-channn:** XD You're too cute! Thanks for reviewing!

**dontstopbelieving123**: I try my best to update regularly! I'm so glad you're liking the story! Thank you! :D

**WinterRain36**: There will eventually be a lemon, but not for a while! ;) Thank you for your review and I hope you continue to read and enjoy the story! :D


	17. Chapter 17

New chapter! Enjoy! :)

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Peter POV

Peter wasn't interested in the little dispute between Tony and Steve. It seemed no matter what was said, the pair could not get along. He wasn't perturbed by it at all. What he was perturbed by, was the fact that even Banner along with Stark, were suspicious against Fury and his new found interest in energy business and why they'd had the Tesseract at all. It confirmed he and Rose weren't just paranoid.

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little bit funky to you?" Bruce said a bit hesitantly.

Peter could see the wheels turning in the Soldier's head, but the older man shook his head and turned to leave. "Just find the cube."

As he exited, he passed Rose on the way out and gave her a slight nod before continuing his determined strut. When the red head entered the room, Peter looked down at her legs. He hadn't seen them bare. Usually she had her suit on, or jeans. He liked her shorts.

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about?" Nobody paid mind to Tony's comment.

"Is everything alright?" Rose asked, looking over her shoulder at where a seriously disgruntled Steve had been only moments before.

"As alright as can be." Tony said, walking toward Bruce to talk. "For now."

Peter watched as Rose furrowed her brow and made her way toward him. He stretched out his arm, and felt her body press against his side. He noticed a bruise on her cheek and frowned. "How's training going?"

Rose pursed her lips. "It's okay. My legs are so sore, though!" Peter gave a small grin, and she continued. "How are things here? Anything new on the Tesseract?"

Peter ran a hand through his hair and debated on telling Rose about Stark's and Banner's suspicions on Fury. "Umm.. Nothing yet."

Hazel eyes connected with brown, and Peter was momentarily stunned at the concern in her eyes. "What's wrong?" She whispered, as so the other men wouldn't hear.

"Nothing." He lied, hoping she would drop it.

No such luck. Rose searched his eyes and he was forced to look away. "Peter,"

"I'll fill you in on everything when we get back to the room." He whispered. He wasn't stupid. Of course Rose would have to know if Fury and SHIELD were up to any funny business, but until it was verified, he wasn't going to cause stress on her. A selfish decision to make for himself, but that was that.

Rose trusted him, and she nodded. "Okay.."

"Keep it PG, kids!" Tony teased from across the room. Giving a cocky smile as the young pair looked over at him. He continued to eat his blueberries as Bruce shook his head amusedly. "I won't even tell you to take it to the bedroom because you never know where Fury keeps his cameras around here."

Rose crossed her arms, and walked toward Tony. "The more you talk, the more I question Virginia's character, as I'm shocked such a woman could stand to be around you for more than five minutes."

"It's Pepper, by the way. Virginia is a geriatric name." Tony said, throwing some more berries in his mouth. "And also, I'm offended. I happen to be People magazine's most charming man of the year. You're just too uptight."

Rose felt her mouth fall open, insulted. "I am not uptight, you ass!"

Tony seemed to be more and more entertained by getting the girl riled up. He could see the traits of Pepper in the girl, and couldn't help but feel a bit of responsibility for her. She _was_ his girlfriend's only family, after all. Not to mention, her anger was something of amusement. "Hey dear, I don't make the shoe, but if it fits…"

Peter hugged Rose from behind the waist, noticing she wasn't catching on the playful tone Stark had. "Aaaaaand, we're done here."

"It's getting pretty late, maybe we should call it a night?" Bruce suggested, glancing at his watch.

"Not for me, big guy." Tony said, walking to a screen, and moving his fingers deftly across the screen. "I still have some things to take care of."

"It's nearly five in the morning," Rose commented, wondering if they were to get any sleep at all.

Tony looked at her, as though waiting for her to finish her sentence. "Yeah? And?"

Rose looked from Peter to Tony, unfailing to see Peter's casual shrug. He wasn't ready to sleep either, she supposed. "We need to be well rested. In case-"

"In case something bad happens. Yeah, I don't really go by the rules, and I haven't had a bedtime in the past thirty eight years, so I think I'm gonna skip the Z's and continue to hack into SHIELD's database."

Peter guiltily looked at Rose's shocked expression. She stood there gaping like a fish, her cheeks flushed. "You shouldn't be hacking into their system! What is wrong with you!?"

Tony looked up thoughtfully and tapped his chin. "You want the whole list? Cause that might take a while."

"Rose, you know we've had our suspicions." Peter said lowly, gently grabbing her arm. "It's not just us who think SHIELD might be up to something. Tony just took the initiative to find out."

Peter sat back down, feeling a more unsettling feeling in his stomach about events that were sure to come. "We can't.. we can't just roll over and play hero to these people who have known about us for months, and then approach us like nothing with something this big. We need to know who we're fighting for."

Rose knew he was right and gave a stiff nod, allowing Peter to turn back to his work. She obviously couldn't change what they were doing, and resolutely decided to ignore it for the moment. She walked straight toward Bruce, sitting in the seat next to him. "Doc… can I ask a question?"

Bruce looked at her curiously. "Uh, sure, go ahead."

"What…" She grimaced, and rubbed her arm nervously. "What do you know about suppressed memories? Can they come back at random or in dreams…?"

Studying her face, he thought, and answered, "You know, I'm really not one of those types of doctors."

Ignoring the disappointment in her chest, she gave a curt smile, "Right. Sorry."

Seeing her expression fall at his answer, Bruce felt a twinge of guilt. He didn't know the answer, but something was surely bothering her. "Why do you ask? Is everything alright?"

Her eyes looked a little glazed over as she nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah…just.. Just curious, is all." She pretended not to see his concerned gaze, and got up, announcing she was going to get her laundry. With a wave to Peter, she left, her head filled with unsure thoughts and questions.

* * *

A humble thanks to L**ift the Wings**, **Ebony95**, and **Through Jaded Eyes**; your feedback is most appreciated, and I hope to continue in pleasing your inner fan-girl! ;) Thank you all for being super awesome!


	18. Chapter 18

Hey you guys! Sorry I haven't been updating. My laptop died on me, and I lost ALL the files I had on this story! I was extremely upset and discouraged from rewriting and having to remember certain parts and lines.. and ugh just very frustrating! Plus, personal issues that have had in me in blue moods.. Luckily, my DH has been super supportive and I will be on my vacation soon, and celebrating our three year anniversary. We are going to Disneyland! Yay! Anyway, I am in the process of my writing again, and I hope you all can be patient as I redo this process and story. I hope you enjoy! Xoxoxo

* * *

Between training, and Peter working with the science wonder boys, there was no time for him and I to get together and just be. The transition from night to day seemed to be moving slow and fast all at once. Time was becoming a bit of a different concept to me.

After a couple hours of sleep the night before, I was rudely awakened and told to suit up and get to the bridge because Fury was needing to talk to me.

My body felt sore as I got out of bed and began to get dressed. My muscles were aching and my head continued to pound with pain and discomfort. While walking toward the bridge, I paused at the lab's door when I heard sounds of shouts coming from inside the room.

"-I feel threatened!"

"I swear to God, Stark, one more crack.."

I hurried through the door, halting as I witnessed everyone arguing. I tried to intervene, with no luck.

**Peter POV**

He didn't want to be here. These people weren't trustworthy, not the lot of them. Hearing them argue, upset over the deception, the concealed weapons S.H.E.I.L.D was keeping hush hush about.

"Agent Romanov, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-"

"Where?" Bruce cut in, Rose looking worriedly at him, and Peter barely noticing she was now in the room. "You rented my room."

"Bruce.."

Fury looked just the slightest abashed, "The cell was just in case.."

"In case you needed to kill me." Bruce scoffed, "But you can't! I know, I've tried!"

Peter felt his stomach drop as the room became silent. He would never have thought Bruce as a type to end his own life.. "I got low.. I didn't see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on, focused on helping other people. I was doing good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone at risk!"

Peter licked his lips in anticipation, feeling his spidey senses begin to tingle. Bruce was looking very upset as he turned toward Romanov. "You wanna know my secret, agent Romanov? You wanna know how I stay calm?"

Peter looked over at Rose, her eyes wide and her hands clasped together near her mouth, looking extremely upset. He wanted to walk right over and take her out of this place but her voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"..Doctor Banner.. Please.."

Bruce looked at her, his shoulders slowly lowering from their tense position as he saw her wide eyed expression. He looked the slightest bit ashamed at his outburst before looking at Steve when the Soldier spoke.

"Doctor Banner, put down the scepter.." Bruce looked down, shocked to see he had the scepter in his hand.

A beeping sound interrupted them and everyone moved and spoke at once. Peter rushed to Rose and kissed her gently. "You okay?"

Rose looked up at him, and he realized her eyes were bloodshot and dewy. His heart began to race in and he felt a wave of protectiveness toward him racce throughout his body. He rubbed her shoulders, trying to calm her. "Hey, hey… what's wrong?"

She opened her mouth to speak before Banner yelled out, "Oh, my God!"

Suddenly, they were separated with a loud explosion.


	19. Chapter 19

_Almost a year since I've updated this story. A YEAR! Please don't kill me, to whomever might still read this. I had some major events happen in my life, but I'm finally in a place where I am inspired to write again. I never forgot this story and had worked on it here and there in the past months. It's complete and the sequel is what I am working on now. Again, I apologize to those who were counting on me to upload the chapter's. I'm not sure anyone would continue to read it now, but I'm posting nonetheless. Thank you. _

* * *

Rose blinked disoriented, the nausea hitting her hard when she tried to move. With a grunt, she turned her head to see Natasha speaking into her ear piece, but only heard muffled sounds. Looking farther, she saw Bruce, and felt herself snap into alert. He looked on the verge of losing control.

Ignoring the ringing in her ears, she called out to him, "Bruce?"

As her hearing was coming back, she could make out his harsh breathing, the way he was twitching. She needed to get out of there. She got up, instantly crying out when her leg failed her. It seemed a shard of metal was protruding from her thigh. She grit her teeth and yanked it out. "Argh!"

"Go!" She heard Natasha yell.

With watery eyes she got up again and stumbled to the assassin. "I'm not leaving you here."

Natasha glared at her. "Get out! _NOW_!"

After a moment's hesitation, Rose took off, hating herself for leaving agent Romanov there. She ran as fast as her legs would allow, trying hard to ignore the pain. She'd only seen Natasha and Bruce so maybe the others were faring better.

She held back a whimper as a roar echoed through the walls. She kept running, praying that Natasha was okay. _No thanks to you_. Shut up! She thought.

A bullet whizzed past her, narrowly missing her face and she turned sharply, seeing a man a lower level away pointing his gun at her and shooting again, she slid under the metal banister and launched herself at him, satisfied at the crunch sound her boot made with his nose.

As she rolled on the floor, her leg was throbbing and her suit was damp with blood. She had no time to complain though as she noticed the man curse and reach for the gun. With a gasp, she lunged forward, wrestling with the man for the weapon. He brutally backhanded her, and then heaved her over the stairwell, his hand around her throat. She tried to kick, tried to pull his arms off her but it was no use. Her vision was becoming blurry and she could barely make out the gargled gasps she was omitting, with blind accuracy she went for her common move of stabbing the assailant's eyes with her nails.

The man screamed and released her, causing her to fall to the level below. She lay on the ground coughing and gasping for air before the next thing she knew the Hulk and Thor came flying through the floor. She dragged herself further away from the two, hoping with every fiber of her being that she wouldn't cause any attention to herself.

Fate had decided otherwise and moments later there were bullets coming through the windows, glass shattering all around her and she tried to cover her head. Hulk looked her way, seeing her and then looking to the man in jet shooting at him. With a roar, he ran toward the window launching himself at the jet.

Rose screamed in pain as his foot made contact with her ribs, kicking her out the window.

And she was falling, falling...

* * *

_TBC tomorrow._


	20. Chapter 20

_Next chappie! Please, if anyone has any constructive criticism please let me know! Coming back from a long break from writing has left me rather rusty haha! Enjoy!_

* * *

"Where is she!?"

Director Fury sighed, and the two other men at the table didn't look up as Peter came in, fury on his face. "WHERE!?"

"Parker," Director Fury shook his head, looking defeated. "Sit down."

Peter felt it, that same horrible feeling. His head was spinning._ Snap!_ The sound of Gwen's head hitting the pavement. _Snap!_ "NO!" He roared, his voice cracking, "Please". He looked pleadingly at Agent Hill, at the men on the table, _anyone_, waiting for them to reassure him that Rose was fine. That she was injured but okay.

None came.

The Soldier looked at the table and Stark simply stood up and walked out, having heard all he needed from Fury.

"She fell."

* * *

"You fell out of the sky."

Bruce blinked his eyes open, feeling a weight on his chest and a mouthful of hair. Red hair. He sat up, confused at the sight of a bloodied Rose on his chest. He rubbed a hand over his face, his eyes adjusting to the light, finally seeing who it was who spoke. An old man, officer or something at the top of the rubble.

"Did I hurt anybody?" He asked, his voice coarse.

The old man looked pointedly at the girl, "She's breathing, so that's a sign. There ain't nobody around here to get hurt.. You did scare the hell out of some pigeons though."

Bruce carefully moved Rose to the ground next to him, too out of it to be concerned with his nudity. "Lucky." He muttered.

The old man shrugged. "Or just good aim. You were awake when you fell, cradling her before you hit the ground."

Bruce licked his lips, head spinning. "You saw?"

"The whole thing." The man exclaimed, motioning his hands while speak. "Right though the ceiling. Big, and green, and buck ass nude."

He was tossed a pair of clothes, half paying attention to the man talking. Thanking the man, he slowly got up and dressed, thankful that Rose hadn't woken up to his naked ass.

"You an alien?"

He gave an incredulous look to the elderly man. "What?"

"From outer space?" The older man pressed. At his negative response, the old man gave a look and added, "Well son, you've got a condition."

Bruce nodded, putting the last piece of clothing on and knelt by Rose. Why had the Hulk been cradling her? Was she anywhere near the Hulk? She couldn't have been or she'd be dead. Her moan brought him out of his thoughts and he observed her injuries. Bruising, gashes, and who knows what else. "Hey. Hey take it easy."

"Dr. Banner?" She mumbled, staring at him in horror. He'd never admit but he'd forgotten just how devastating it was to be at the receiving end of that look. She saw him as a monster. "Are you okay?" She asked, trying to sit up.

He let out an incredulous laugh, "You're the one bleeding and you're asking me if I'm okay?"

"Force of habit." She shook her head before her eyes widened in panic and she bolted up, "Oh my God, Peter!"

* * *

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Rose yelled at Bruce as they sped down the road on the bike they'd stolen.

Bruce ignored her and looked at the giant portal in the sky, hearing the sirens in the distance. "It might be too late."

"It's not!" Rose whispered, feeling her head throb. "It's not."

The chitauri were pouring down from the sky like a river. It seemed like most of the city had been evacuated by the time they reached it. "Why did you protect me?" Rose asked, trying to take her mind off the pulsing in her head.

She felt Bruce tense. "To be honest, I've been asking myself the same thing."

"Any ideas?"

"Just one." He answered, willing the bike to go faster. "I guess we'll see soon enough if I'm right or not."

"Stop!" Rose yelled in his ear, causing him to swerve in surprise. "PETER!"

He looked up and saw the figure of the Spider-Man in the distance, fighting off a group of the aliens. He ignored the grip of her nails in his shoulder's and fought to control his anger. "Be patient!" He snapped at her.

At his tone, Rose breathed heavily, wanting to race to where Peter was at, unaware of her speeding toward his direction. "There!" She yelled seeing the group ahead. Bruce slowed down, interrupting what seemed like Steve giving out orders. She wasted no time in throwing herself off the bike before it reached a complete stop and ran past the team toward the figure of Peter swinging her direction.

He took off his mask quickly before he landed, and Rose raced into his arms, throwing herself on him like a mad woman. Her whole body entangled with his and he lifted her off the ground kissing her fervently. She was fighting back tears when they parted, and he too felt his throat close with heavy emotion. His forehead against hers he whispered, "I thought- I thought.."

"Me, too." She whispered back, pecking his lips once more before forcing herself to place herself in the situation at hand. The group had respectfully given them a short moment before a giant alien was making its way toward them.

"Dr. Banner," Steve said, "Now might be a good time to get angry."

Bruce shared a look with Rose before nodding at the Soldier. "That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry."

With one powerful punch, the alien beast ruptured around them in a mess, leaving their group to back into one another to size up their approach on the situation.

"Call it, Cap." Tony calls from Rose's right side.

"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash,"

"Better clench up, Legolas." Stark says before grabbing Hawkeye and taking off.

"Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You've got the lightning. Light the bastards up. Spider-Man, reach wherever your webs allow you, but try and stay close to ground level. Who knows how many civilians are still in these buildings." He turned to the women next. "As for us, there's more coming to ground level, keep the fighting here. And Hulk, SMASH."

The Hulk grins and leaps, soaring high into the nearest building leaving the four of them on the ground.

Within seconds the chitauri were on them, shooting and fighting. _There's so many,_ Rose thought, more than she'd ever thought she be fighting when she got into the whole vigilante business. Then again, she had never even imagined aliens would be attacking the city so she figured she'd cut herself a little slack.

"Captain!" She cried out, throwing a kick to one of the aliens. "There's too many!"

"Keep fighting!" He called out, taking five out at once.

Rose glanced to her right not having time to admire Peter's effortless fighting as more chitauri cornered her. She gave a powerful uppercut to one, and grunted in exertion to push the other one's head through a taxi's passenger window. She turned to her left and saw a group of people in a building further off about to be the next victims of the chitauri. Without hesitation, she sprinted toward the building, stopping only a short distance away to cover herself behind an abandoned police car. After giving herself a small moment to catch her breath, Rose looked over the hood of the vehicle and saw four of the creatures closing in on the civilians. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, moving quickly and rested up a fallen officer. She crawled on all fours, hoping not to alert the chitauri and reached for the officer's holster.

"Sorry," She muttered, grabbing the gun and checking to see a good amount of bullets in it. The sound of a child crying diverted her attention back to where the people were now about to become a statistic. She set her aim and fired, sending a round of bullets into two of the aliens, leaving only two left.

Their attention immediately diverted from the group of people to her and she scrambled her brain for a plan. "That's right! Come and get it, you sons of bitches!" she yelled, sending another round of bullets into the demons.

With the last one fallen, Rose yelled noticing some officers nearby. "GET THEM OUT OF HERE!"

She turned around and ran back to the group, hearing the words "missile" and "Stark".

Rose looked up, seeing Tony deterring a missile away from the city. For a moment she glanced at Peter and felt her body freeze. A chitauri saw its moment of opportunity while everyone was distracted and jumped, ready to plunge its blade into Peter's head.

"_NO_!" She screamed, reaching out her arm to him. Everything stopped.


	21. Chapter 21

Her worst fear was happening. Peter was dead.

Rose slowly lowered her hand, her chest heaving in quick gasps. Was she dying? Was this a panic attack? She looked at Peter, still in the same position he was in moments before. The chitauri also. She turned her head, panicked. Banner, Steve... "no, no. no...NO, no no _no_." She moved forward cautiously, feeling her body tremble.

Nobody was moving, everything was still. She looked at her hands and began to cry. What the hell was happening? What was happening to her? What had she _done_!?

"_Rose_." A small voice echoed deep in her subconscious and she screamed, shaking her head.

She ran to Peter, afraid to touch him and looked at the chitauri behind him. With unrepressed anger she grabbed the weapon from the frozen alien's hands and plunged it in between its eyes. The warm spray of its blood coated her face, and she could only stare in fascination at what she'd done before the feeling of violation to her mind persisted.

"Stop!" She cried out, looking up toward the sky. Maybe God would hear her. Then, a pain sharper than anything she'd ever felt hit her with intense force. It was almost like someone had taken a hot iron, rested it in a fire and decided to brand her brain with it. She clutched her head, and crouched down, making herself as small as possible. "STOP, PLEASE!"

"Rose!" Peter was suddenly holding her by the shoulder's, shaking her. "How did you-"

She didn't know how the world came back to life. She didn't know who was whispering inside her head. She just knew she was tired, and her body finally gave up in her.

* * *

_"Jon, the door!"_

_Rose looked up at the sound of her mother's voice and set her barbie's down. She raced out into the hallway and stuck her head through the stairs, stretching to see who was visiting. Rose heard faint whispering and moved from her position, hoping to get a view of the visitors._

_Mostly her mother and father ordered her in a different room when they had guests, but Rose was a curious child and that almost always got her into trouble. _

_The child crouched dramatically by her father's office. The door was slightly ajar and she took a moment to ponder on whether or not to risk a peek. _

**_"Hello, dear."_**

_Startled, the little girl fell on her rear and looked behind her. Nobody was there, but the voice had sounded so close! Very close!_

_There was an amused chuckle that she realized was coming from her head! **"Do not be startled, darling."** The voice comforted, as if sensing her confusion. The door opened, revealing her stern faced father. Despite his expression, however, there was a tender look in his eyes. _

_"Rose, what have we told you about sneaking around when guests are here?" _

_The girl smiled sheepishly at her father, knowing full well that he wouldn't punish her. He never did. He grabbed her shoulder gently and led her into his office. Having never really been one to meet strangers, the child stood behind her father's legs and stared at the two visitors. One was a man in a wheelchair, a slight bit older than her father and she had a feeling about him that soothed Rose's apprehension. The next was a much younger woman. She had a warm smile and dramatic white hair. _

_"Rose, these people are here to meet you." Her father explained, coaxing her to sit down. "They would like to talk to you." _

_Rose looked down at her lap. Why did they want to talk to her for? Were they going to be her friends? She never had friends. _

_**"I'd like to be your friend."** The voice in her mind spoke again. Rose looked up at the man when he finished the sentence out loud. "If you'd like that is." _

_"How do you do that?" Rose asked, losing some of her shyness. _

_The woman next to him spoke next, her voice sounding like honey. "There are people in this world who are special, Rose. Do you know that you are special?" _

_Rose looked questioningly at her father, spurring a response at his encouragement. "No." She said, looking down and shaking her head. _

_"Would you like to see how special you are?" The man asked kindly._

_Rose looked at her father again, not sure what the right answer was. He gave her excited smile and she gave her answer..._

* * *

There was whispering, and sounds of beeping.

"-been three weeks-"

"-holding on-"

"-Stark-"

Rose opened her eyes slowly, the task itself exhausting her. Her body felt like a heavy boulder. A caress to her cheek alerted her that there was someone sitting directly next to her. She dazedly looked around the room, waiting for the fuzziness to go away. When she tried to speak, nothing but a small croak came out.

"Rose!" A voice cried out, too loudly for her as expressed by her facial features. "Sorry, sorry. Uh, here. Here's some water!"

She felt a cool liquid on her lips and she greedily chugged the water. When she was done, she turned her head to see a familiar face. Her heart skipped a beat and she smiled. "Peter," She breathed out.

Peter clutched her hand in his, carefully avoiding the IV as to not irritate it. "I'm here. I'm here, Rose." He nuzzled her neck and both held on the the blissful moment of being reunited for what felt like the hundredth time. "God, I thought I had lost you. First with Banner, and then the second..."

"What happened?" She asked, immediately coughing after she spoke.

Peter shook his head, his brow furrowing. "Something happened with you... I'm not- well, we're not sure what. Something strange. Almost like you were teleporting... as crazy as that sounds." He spoke warily, almost as if what he was telling her would cause her to pass out again.

Memories came flooding back to her. Memories of the pain in her head, the voice, and the way she'd somehow stopped time and actually walked around in it. Beeping in the room alerted the staff and Peter that her heart rate was going up. "Rose?"

She looked at him with fearful eyes, "Something did happen, Peter. I can't explain it. One moment you were going to be killed and the next I made it stop. I _stopped_ it. I did something-"

"It's okay," Peter said soothingly, rubbing her hair gently and glancing at the door for staff to arrive. "Just breathe for a second, will you?" Despite his calm demeanor, there was a worried look etched on his face. Truth be told he didn't know what to feel. He'd gone through a whirlpool of emotions in the past week that he was surprised he wasn't off locking himself away from society. But Peter knew deep down. Deep down he knew that the feelings he had for Rose were terrifying him. The panic and pain were all too familiar emotions when he'd heard she fell. When he saw her convulsing on the ground when she'd blacked out. The haunting look of her eyes, wide and so damn expressive of the pain she must've been feeling... God, it was torture. He was helpless to do anything, and that was the worst feeling of all.

Rose had calmed down at his touch after a few moments. She focused on the way one hand was in her hair, his fingers running themselves through her matted locks. The other hand held hers in support, his thumb rubbing small gentle circles on her skin. She took a deep breath, flashes of a dream coming to mind. She closed her eyes, trying to remember details. "There was... a voice."

She didn't miss how Peter had bristled at her words and she could only imagine he was taking this voice as a potential threat. "What do you mean?"

"In my head," She continued, oblivious to the other people entering the room. "A man. Someone I've met before, I think... I- I don't know." She grimaced in pain as a headache began to form while trying to find the right memory.

"We'll figure it out, Rose." Peter assured her, bringing her hand to his lips. "Don't worry."

A cough broke whatever trance Peter's penetrating gaze had had her in, and Rose turned her head toward the door. The sight she saw almost left her speechless, however, she managed to choke out a name. "Virginia!"


	22. Chapter 22

_New chapter. Hope you like! Please review. _

* * *

Virginia was slender, beautiful and she was also standing in Rose's room. She was in the same room as her.

Rose felt her breath catch in her throat. As far back as she could remember, she'd always envisioned that she'd have a emotional, warm and movie like reunion with her long lost family. Now, in this moment, seeing that the woman was standing there, professional and poised... God, she couldn't have been more wrong.

"Rose." The woman spoke, sounding apprehensive. She smoothed her shirt down and cleared her throat, before stepping closer to the bed.

Rose followed the woman's moves with a frown on her face. "What are you doing here, Virginia?"

She opened her mouth to reply before another voice spoke for her. "It's Pepper, didn't I mention that to you before?" They all turned to the door as Tony walked in, a few cuts on his face. Rose immediately felt guilty that she'd forgotten to ask how everyone else was doing and how everything had turned out. Her mind was just so far out of it, the thoughts hadn't even come up.

"I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking." Tony added, pulling a chair and making himself comfortable. He kicked his legs up on the bed and leaned back, looking up at Pepper.

Rose licked her lips, and looked to Peter. Unfortunately he looked just as uncomfortable as she felt.

Pepper stepped forward again, "I saw what happened. I- I had no idea you were... Well, that you were.. like Tony."

Tony blinked, not sure whether or not to make a joke. It wasn't very often that Pepper was at a loss for words.

"I would've... I should have-"

"What?" Rose laughed without humor. "What, you would have written me another letter?"

Pepper's jaw clenched and she looked down with an unreadable expression on her face. "I'm sorry I haven't the most... involved with your life. I made a point to keep track that your family was taking care of you."

Rose snorted and shook her head. "Why didn't you call? Three letters I got from you... I don't know, I've been fine without you. All these years I've been fine. But now you're here... I really don't know what to say."

"I say let's surpass all this drama, get some ice cream and we can talk all about your little disappearing, reappearing act." Tony said, getting up suddenly and earning a glare from the three occupants in the room.

"You know what man, maybe we should leave the two to talk privately." Peter said, standing up also and releasing Rose's hand.

Tony nodded, and pointed at Peter, "I'm totally with you, Webster, but first I am just dying with curiosity at how your girlfriend here pulled that little act a couple weeks back."

"Tony, stop." Pepper scolded, exasperated.

Rose bit her lip and turned to Peter. "I want to speak with a Doctor. I'm ready to go home."

Peter sat down again and cupped her cheek. "Do you think that's a good idea? You need rest."

Despite his brown doe eyes and his worried expression, Rose shook her head adamantly. "No, I'm tired of all this! I want to go home! I want to go to a damn book club with May. I want to go back and talk with Tammy about my paintings. I don't want _this_ anymore! I don't want this!"

"Hey, hey, hey..." Peter whispered, his face filled with concern at Rose's outburst. She was shaking and truth be told he was scared something else entirely was causing her to act this way. He too, wanted to know what had happened in the city during the battle, but from their conversation earlier it seemed she was just as lost as the rest of them.

"_Please_, Peter." She begged quietly, grabbing his hands. He felt his heart break at the tears slipping down her cheeks and her bloodshot eyes, still so wide and expressive. "Let's just run away together. Get out of the city. We could take May, some place quiet and far."

He was about to respond when suddenly she was no longer in her bed. He jumped back toward the wall, hearing Tony curse and Pepper gasp. _What the hell,_ Peter thought. She was just here.

There was a commotion from down the hall and the three raced out of the room, Peter sprinting toward the crowd of people now hovering over a Rose who had backed herself into a corner, shaking and rocking herself back and forth.

"Oh my God," He heard Pepper whisper.

Sparing a glance back he saw Tony looking speechless for once, and pushed himself through the nurses and staff that had rushed over to the girl. "Rose," He called gently, his blood running cold at her face. God she looked so frightened, he could hardly recognize her from the girl he'd gotten so used to having a bright smile on her face when she saw him, with her eyes shining with genuine affection. Now, all he saw was fear.

She looked up at him, shaking and clutching her arms.

"Hey, it's okay, Rose." He continued, slowly crouching down to her level. What the hell was happening to her? He was going to find out, even if it killed him. "Shh, shh, I'm here. I'm here."

Her lip wobbled and she exhaled loudly. "I can't control it." Her breath was hoarse, almost as if she'd been screaming too long. "I can't control it, Peter. Please, make it stop. _Please_."

Peter licked his lips and pressed her to his chest, hating that he couldn't do anything to make her feel better. What could he do? The situation was unlike one he'd ever experience before. For a second, he'd wish Gwen was here. She would know what to do. God, he wished he could tell his aunt May. She definitely would know what to do, but he wasn't about to dump all of this, whatever it was, on her. He needed to protect her. He needed to protect Rose, yet he was failing horribly.

"Is she going to okay? Tony, will she be alright?" Pepper's voice in the background called out nervously. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Tony said quietly, flummoxed. "We should call in the big guy for this."

Peter carefully lifted Rose up, and walked back to their room, hardly hearing the orders for tests to be ran on the woman in his arms. His thoughts went back to Captain Stacy. To Gwen. Was it him? Was it a curse that whoever got close to him was doomed to die? To insanity?

As soon as he set her down he was immediately pushed out of the way by the staff. Standing at the door, he swallowed and rubbed a hand over his jaw. He needed to get some air, time to think. _Need to think, need to think._

Tony came up next to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. Shaking his head, Peter shrugged it off and hurriedly walked away. He needed time to think.

* * *

tbc


	23. Chapter 23

Three days. Three days she had been here in this hospital.

She wanted out. The voice in her mind was relentless. She tried to push it away, to block it out, anything to shut it up but to no avail. Pepper had insisted she stay as long as she needed, not to worry about the medical bills. Rose looked at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was past 3 AM. Peter had stayed with her day and night from what Tony had told her, and she immediately made him go home to reassure May everything was fine. The poor woman had showed up the previous day, looking a right mess.

Rose had no idea what SHIELD had told the woman or where she had been taken, but May didn't bother asking questions. Instead May gave her an almost knowing look and a heavy sigh of worry before sitting down and discussing a book as if no time had passed at all. There were no complaints on Rose's end, for she had missed just being in the presence of May and Peter.

"_Rose_."

The girl sat rigid in the bed, the whisper in her mind just itching to be released. She prayed silently that she wouldn't be stuck in time again. Hastily, sh got out of the bed, careful not to alert any of the medical staff and crossed the room to pull out her backpack from under the chair by the door. It contained her clothes and she mentally thanked Peter for bringing them to her.

She quickly got dressed and peeked her head out the door, before pulling back as a nurse walked by. As soon as the nurse was out of sight Rose sprinted to the elevator, not caring that she was currently barefoot. As the doors dinged shut, she released a sigh of relief and let her head fall against the wall. She had no doubt there were cameras watching her every move but she didn't care. She didn't want to be in there a second longer.

"_Rose_."

Gritting her teeth, Rose ran past confused staff members, out the lobby and into the night. She kept running, ignoring the unforgiving gravel and pavement on her bare feet. Truthfully, she had no idea how long she'd been running, but she spotted a park and slowed down to a jog, making her way to the swings.

She sat down and started swinging slowly. _Now what_? She thought. Peter had her belongings, which her apartment's keys were a part of. She didn't want to disturb Peter and May, but figured she'd end up going to their house nonetheless. The dirt beneath her felt cool to the touch and she scrunched her toes, enjoying the feeling.

"It's quite an odd time to be enjoying the park, wouldn't you say?" A voice interrupted her little moment.

Rose gave a small squeak and jumped up, facing the person, preparing for a fight. The man in question stood a good five feet away and he had a small smile on his face. The strange part was that he had on sunglasses. At night.

"Leave me alone." She said evenly, looking stone faced.

The man's smile never changed. "I'm not here to harass you, I promise." He began, sounding sincere. "I'm only here to offer you an opportunity."

"I'm not interested." Rose replied shortly, turning to walk away.

"Not even if it could help you control your powers?" The man called out a little louder. Now this- _this_ had grabbed her attention and she froze in fear. A million different scenarios of how he knew and what he was going to do to her sped through her mind.

She turned her head, and her voice trembled with heavy emotion. "H- how..?"

The man's smile faded and he took a step closer, testing his boundaries. "I know someone who can help you. A place where people like us can learn, test and grow in our abilities."

Rose licked her lips, feeling the peeled skin break a little and tasting the tang of blood. "_Our_?"

The man chuckled and raised his hands to his sunglasses. "I don't wear these at night just because they look good."

Rose studied the man, her face impassive. He didn't seem to give off any 'evil guy' vibes and she was always counting on her intuition. "How do I know I can trust you?"

The man hummed lowly and she could imagine his eyes being gentle and kind. "You can't. But I know the Professor would be disappointed. He's been trying to get a hold of you for a long time now."

"The Professor?" Rose wondered aloud. How long had he been trying to reach her? She never heard from any Professor.

The man tapped his head. "Not the communication you're thinking of."

Puzzled, Rose was about to ask what he meant when it hit her. The voice! The voice that had been in her head! Her mouth dropped slightly and she looked up at the man with wide eyes. "The voice..." She whispered, "He's... _real_, then?"

"As real as you and me."

"And he can help me?" She continued, her interest peaked. If this man, this Professor could help her control her ability, maybe he could help her get rid of it for good.

The man nodded. "I'll give you a few days to mull it over. Think about it, and I'll come get your final decision."

As he turned to walk away, Rose called out after him. "You don't know where I live!"

All he did was tap his head and continued to walk until he was no longer in sight. Rose stood there, cold and bewildered. She had so many thoughts running through her mind but they all came back to one thing. What in the world was she going to tell Peter?

* * *

tbc


	24. Chapter 24

_I want to apologize for the story if it seems really hasty. I didn't want to drag the Avenger's plot because that's not the main story I want to tell with Rose. This is simply a romance story with action fillers. It's mainly about Peter and Rose, with sides of their superhero alter egos. Thank you to those of you who continue to read and I hope you enjoy what I do put out. :) _

Rose had stayed at the park for the next few hours until she'd received a frantic phone call from Pepper. After refusing to return to the hospital to her adamant sister, Rose had felt only the slightest bit guilty at hanging up on the woman midway through her lecture. After what felt like forever, Rose had left the park, delighting in the chilly dew that wet her feet, and the mist of the morning on her bare arms.

It was around a forty minute walk to the Parker's home, and she found herself apprehensive as she approached the doorstep. The selfish part of her wished she could erase the last month and continue to live in ignorance to the bigger problems that threatened her comfortable bubble of familiarity. The other part of her, was determined to fix whatever was now changing her body. Perhaps this could give her answers about her biological family? As much as she told herself she was fine with not knowing her past, there was that annoying feeling that contradicted the former statement.

Sure, she never knew her real parents, and she'd never bothered asking her foster family detailed questions about them, but that didn't stop the thoughts from coming up every once in a while. Especially on the sleepless nights where her mind would soar and leave a tight knot in her stomach.

In present time, the door opened and Rose swallowed a gasp at being caught by surprise. That was happening a lot lately, she thought briefly before giving a scolding May a tight smile.

"Rose!" The older woman exclaimed, ushering her inside by the arm. Rose ran a hand through her hair and worried her lip as May inspected her. "What on earth are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be discharged for at least another two days."

Rose shrugged halfheartedly. "I feel fine. Really."

May gave her a very motherly, stern-like stare that easily said 'you're not fooling anyone' and promptly pointed to the sofa. "Sit. I'll bring you something for your nerves."

Rose immediately obeyed. "Thank you, May."

After a few minutes May returned with a plated tea cup, and a sugar cube. She gave her a tender smile, and placed the sugar in the tea. "Here. It's chamomile."

When Rose felt the warmth of her dear friend as she sat next to her, she immediately felt her façade of trying to play things cool vanish. She took a sip of the tea, breathing deeply and enjoying the taste. The only sound in the room was the rattling of glass as her hands were shaking terribly, and May removed the dishes and placed them on the coffee table. "Oh, Rose." May sighed sadly, rubbing the younger woman's arm.

Rose fought the tears back but couldn't stop a few from leaking out. She accepted May's embrace and squeezed her eyes shut, willing her emotions to go away. "I'm so sorry, May." She apologized, hoping she wasn't causing unnecessary problems for her friend.

"There's no need for an apology, Rose." May answered, patting her back. "I don't know what's going on, but I have a feeling even if I asked, I wouldn't get a straight answer."

Rose's body shook as a sob tore from her throat. "I don't even know myself."

"Rose!"

The two woman pulled apart and looked toward the stairs where Peter was now descending hurriedly. He came forward and knelt in front of Rose. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but you should still be at the hospital."

May stood up after a moment's silence and excused herself, giving the couple their privacy.

Rose looked at her hands being cupped and cradled by Peter's much larger and rougher ones. "I'm sorry for putting you two through all of this. Especially you, Peter." She said lowly, glancing toward the kitchen where May was assembling ingredients for their breakfast. Her heart clenched at the normalcy of the sight. A month ago she would have been in there helping May, probably talking about a new movie, or hearing the latest drama going on at the hospital where she worked. Now, that felt like a lifetime ago. That feeling had somehow gotten lost with all this Avenger's business, with all this stuff with herself. Her _ability_, as the man from earlier had called it.

Peter sat next to her and pulled her to his chest. "Don't worry about that, Rose. I told you we're going to fix this. We're going to figure it out, and fix it. I give you my word."

She looked up at his face, so full of sincerity and hope that she couldn't bring herself to tell him about the encounter she'd had earlier. Reaching up, she cupped his face and ran her thumb over his jaw. His stubble was a sign of just how much time he'd been devoting to her and her bedside. He always shaved, unless he was too preoccupied not to. Her hand continued its journey over his skin and she fingered his right eyebrow, then made way to his hair and ran her fingers through the brown messy locks. She leaned forward and captured his lips in a chaste kiss.

When she pulled back she saw the tenderness in Peter's eyes as they connected with hers. The emotion in them normally would have had her walking on clouds with unadulterated joy, but her head kept bringing her thoughts back to the offer that was made that morning and the uncertainty of where that would take her left an unsettling feeling in her stomach. "What was that for?" He smiled, unaware of just how completely _lost_ she felt.

"For being you." She replied truthfully, already missing the feeling of his lips on hers. "For being Peter."

Peter's smiled widened into a goofy grin and he captured her in a soft kiss once more, milking it a few seconds longer before Rose pulled away reluctantly. She didn't want to but the cut on her lip had reopened and she sucked the blood between her teeth and chuckled. "Sorry."

Peter reached behind him to get a tissue and dabbed her lip. "Do you want to use our shower before Aunt May finishes breakfast?"

The two looked at her feet covered in dirt and they shared a small laugh. Rose smiled at Peter lovingly, grateful for the moment of lightheartedness before nodding. "Yes, please."

"Come on." He grinned at her, lacing his fingers through hers and leading her up the stairs.

After her shower and breakfast, Rose had spent the rest of the day watching movies and talking with Peter and May, putting her anxieties and fears of the future to the back of her mind. Then later that evening, when May had left for work, Rose found herself sitting cross legged in the middle of Peter's room, while he tinkered with something at his desk. She was flipping through a magazine absently, torn between making comparisons between herself and the models and not caring. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she quickly pulled it out and raised it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Flower. It's your father."_

Rose sat up straighter, surprised to hear her father on the other end. It had been a while that she'd heard his voice, not counting the voice mails he left on occasion while they played phone tag. "Hi, daddy."

Hearing that, she saw Peter turn around and watch her carefully.

_"I got a call from your sister, Virginia. She tells me you were in the hospital for some time. Is everything alright? Is something the matter?"_

Rose rolled her eyes at the thought of Pepper contacting her parents. She'd been ignoring the woman's calls all day but she didn't think she would actually call her parents. What were they going to do anyway? They were in Australia. "I'm fine, daddy. I had... pneumonia, but I'm all better now."

"_Oh, I was worried it had something to do with that attack on the city a few weeks ago. It's been all over the news! Quite extraordinary stuff there! But back to the subject- Your mother and I hadn't heard from you and we were becoming worried. If Virginia hadn't called we were planning to come down there ourselves."_

"Oh," Rose said, not knowing how to respond.

_"It's something isn't it?" _Her father said suddenly, the sounds of clinking and other noises in the background greeting her ears. "_These Avenger fellows."_

Rose furrowed her brows, flashes of her dreams popping up. Did her father know about her? She tried to remember, but felt frustrated when nothing came up. The dreams were only a vague memory, but the details were foggy. "Yeah, they're something alright."

_"...I know we don't talk much but don't hesitate to call me. If you ever need to talk, I'm here. You know that, don't you, Rose?"_

"Sure thing, dad." Rose almost retorted that he most certainly was _not_ always there, but instead just exchanged simple pleasantry goodbyes with her father and pocketed her phone afterward. She glanced at Peter who was still looking at her and gave a shrug. "Just my dad checking in on me."

"You never really talk about them." Peter commented, and she could sense he was careful with his wording. "Your parents, I mean."

Rose stood up and lowered herself to the bed, leaning back. "Not much to tell. Both are dedicated to their research on ...whatever it is these days they're passionate about. Both are living in Australia, and only my dad and I talk really. My mother, well... we haven't spoken in a real conversation for what feels like years."

Peter left the desk and laid himself next to her. "Do you miss them?"

Rose turned her head, her vision resting on the frame to the right of her head on Peter's nightstand. It was of Gwen, Peter's first love. She reached over and picked it up, observing every detail the photo had to offer her of the blonde. She was laughing in the photo, her hand holding a hood over platinum curls, nose red from the snow falling around her. "I wish I could say I did." Rose responded, eyes still lingering over the photo. "Some days I do. Some days I forget to think about them and then I feel guilty."

She placed the frame back down and looked at Peter who was intently staring at her with a strange look in his eye. "I don't know if you've noticed but I keep to myself. After meeting Pepper though, I'm torn between allowing myself to open up and be vulnerable, and there's another part of me that wants to keep everyone out, including you and May because that would keep all of us from getting hurt down the road when you guys end up not needing me."

Peter looked troubled and he shook his head. "There won't be a time that I don't need you. Aunt May loves you, she has her friends but you're the only one she really cares about. I care about you... I lo- I care about you a lot."

Rose licked her lips, wondering if she'd imagined hearing Peter's slip. He had a very light tint of pink on his cheeks so she figured it wasn't her imagination after all. "That's what scares me."

"Why?" He whispered emotionally.

"_Because_!" She snapped, "What if I fail you guys? What if it gets to a point where it's not enough? If _I'm_ not enough?"

Peter shook his head, "Not possible."

When he cupped her face and kissed her, she tried to swallow the bitter taste in her mouth. She wanted to give him the scenario such as 'what if she was thinking about leaving soon to meet some Professor who was going to help her with her problem?' Or 'what if she was unsure about what was happening to her, and she didn't want him or May involved with it, and instead she would choose to cut contact with them entirely?' _Or_ 'what if she didn't want them to witness anymore episodes with her problem and left to Australia to isolate herself like she was used to doing?'

_No, I can't bring it up._ She thought while Peter ran his hand down her waist and settled on her hip. _Not today_. Instead, she focused on his tongue and the feel of his solid weight pressed against her frame. She was going to be selfish today.

* * *

tbc


	25. Chapter 25

_Comfort. Warmth._ Rose breathed in deeply, rousing from a deep slumber and smelling the distinct scent of cedar mixed with Peter's natural scent. God, she could just lay like this forever, with her nose pressed against the crook of his neck and his arm securing her to his body. Her cheeks heated at the memory of their night just hours earlier. They hadn't gone too far intimately, but they did share quite a few heated kisses that had left her lips swollen and red like the ripest cherry.

Turning over, she looked at the clock and was surprised it had only been four hours that she'd been asleep. It was close to six am and she was about to let herself succumb to it once more before her phone under the pillow vibrated with a text. Rose lifted her face to make sure Peter wasn't awoken by the sound and reached to see who was contacting her.

It was an unknown number. _Meet me outside. _

Her heart began to quicken and she slowly untangled herself from Peter's embrace. As soon as she got out of the bed, the thought of dismissing the text entered her mind but she continued her way down the stairs and out of the Parker's home. When she walked down the front steps she looked around, not seeing anyone there. She turned around, her eyes glancing to Peter's window before sensing someone approaching.

Rose felt anxiousness creep up in her stomach once more as she saw the man with the sunglasses walk up to her. It wasn't that he was giving her threatening vibes, but that he was offering her something different than what she was used to. And she didn't like change. "Miss Evans, do you own any shoes?"

Rose looked down at her bare feet and grimaced. "It's early. Shoes are optional."

The man gave a small smile. "Have you given any thought to my offer yet, Rose?"

_Straight to the point,_ she thought with furrowed brows. "I... I don't have an answer yet."

The man stared at her, leaving her feeling the slightest bit intimidated. "...I know this is a difficult decision. Stepping into a territory that you're not used to, but the Professor _can_ help you. It doesn't have to be a permanent thing, but wouldn't you want to overcome your fears rather than pretend they don't exist?"

Rose folded her arms over her chest, rubbing them nervously. "I don't know anything about this Professor. I don't know _you_, I don't even know where I'd be going? Is he here in New York? I can't just say yes and walk blindly into a different life."

"Is that not what you did with SHIELD?" He asked, looking at her pointedly.

Rose grimaced weighing the truth in his words. "How do you know about SHIELD?"

"The Professor is very good at finding out what he needs to." He replied simply. "But, i'll tell you this- you'd be staying at a school, surrounded with people just like us. It's a sanctuary for those who have no home, for those of us who can test our abilities in a safe environment and not be judged. Trust me, Rose, the longer you try to push your power away, the more unstable it will become."

The thought of her ability being unstable frightened her to the core. She couldn't risk it getting out of control. Not when she had so much to lose... With that thought in mind, she gave her answer unhappily. "Okay. Okay, I'll go."

"It's about an hour and half away, so you let me know when you'll be ready to leave." He told her, apparently unaffected at just how hard this decision had been for her.

"Can you give me until the morning?" She asked, hoping he wasn't planning on going back tonight.

He nodded. "Sure thing. Be ready at this time."

"Okay." She answered, feeling heavy with emotion.

Before he turned to walk away he rested his hand on her shoulder, looking down at her with a look of understanding. "My name's Scott, by the way."

When the man disappeared from her vision, she sat down on the porch steps and ran her hands over her head before burying her face in her hands. Where was this going to leave her with Peter? An hour wasn't that far, it really wasn't.

Her body froze when she felt Peter join her on the step to sit. He remained quiet but there was a tense silence. "So... you're leaving." It wasn't a question.

Rose lifted her head and peaked at him through her arm. She would have been more surprised if he _hadn't_ heard the conversation, given his heightened senses. She was just glad she didn't have to explain it. "Tomorrow."

Peter nodded as he rested his arms on his knees and looked at the ground. "... Did I ever tell you Gwen was accepted to Oxford? Right before she died, she was going to move to England."

Rose stayed silent and continued to keep her head down. She hadn't known that.

"I didn't want her to go." He continued lightly, his eyes lidded as if lost in a memory. "I interfered with her leaving and it cost her life."

"Peter," She started before he continued, ignoring her.

"I won't ask you to stay. I know you need this. I promised you we would fix this, but I didn't consider that it would be out of my control." He was smiling sadly at her, making everything so much easier. It pained her to think she wouldn't see him everyday like she was used to, but people went through obstacles all the time. She just hoped they'd grow together and not apart with the distance.

Rose looked at him gratefully, her heart constricting tight in her chest. "Thank you for understanding."

Peter pulled her into his side and rubbed her arm. "So, we have until tomorrow morning. What should we do?"

She reached down as if she was going to hold his hand and fingered the web-shooter on his wrist. He noticed a playful glint in her eye and smirked before he lifted her up and shot a web at the nearest building. Rose gave out a shriek of excitement as the two flew toward the sky.

* * *

_TBC tomorrow._


	26. Chapter 26

The road was winding and narrow, the trees blended together in a green blur. Rose leaned her forehead on the glass of the passenger window, feeling it fog with each breath she took. She looked from the corner of her eye and saw the man, Scott, as he drove silently to this Professor's school.

Not even an hour ago she had been wrapped in the arms of Peter, not wanting to let go for anything this Professor could offer her. May had made her an early breakfast, thinking she was leaving to start a program offered by Stark Industries, courtesy of her sister Pepper. At least, that was what Peter had explained to her when she inquired about the giant duffel bag near her front door.

* * *

_Earlier_

"Don't look at me like that, Peter or I might just crawl back into your bed and never leave." Rose said as he gave her a woeful look while picking up her bag.

"I can live with that." He replied with a halfhearted grin.

Rose chuckled as she slung her bag over her shoulder. Peter walked up behind her and kissed the crown of her head. "I'm going to miss you. The city already misses you."

A laugh tore out of her mouth before she could stop it. "Peter, New York couldn't be more happy that Shadow has been gone for the last month. After everything's that's happened, half of them are debating on what to do with us vigilantes."

"Well, okay so _they_ won't miss you, but I will." He said bluntly with a humorous smile. "Spider-Man will never be the same."

Rose giggled, lightly punching Peter's arm at his joke. "You and I both know Spider-Man is not the best team player. He'll bounce back. Like always."

Peter gave a chuckle before it faded into a grimace. "I really will miss you though, Rose."

Rose looked up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'll miss you too. I don't think it'll be too long, though. I mean how long does it take to get a superpower under control?" Her joke was only half serious, and the two shared a tender look of understanding.

They both knew that she could be gone for a while. They had spent the evening talking about what that meant for them. They would try as much as they could to see each other but they weren't going to force something that could make things harder on either of them or their lifestyles. Peter had his responsibility as Spider-Man, and Rose understood that. And Peter understood that being in the city was not what was best for her at the moment. So they agreed they were going to keep it light. Take things as they came.

The two looked over her shoulder as a car pulled up, and Scott nodded his head at them giving them a moment before he collected her things. Rose felt that heaviness in the pit of her stomach again. As she looked into Peter's eyes, she guessed that this was what a heart break must feel like. He gave her a smile but she could see right through it. She knew this was hurting him as much as it was hurting her. "Peter, you're my best friend. We're not going to lose touch, right?"

He grabbed her chin gently and lowered his lips to hers, giving her the sweetest kiss. She tasted salt, and broke away to realize a tear had fallen down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, and exhaled deeply. "Rose, we're going to be okay." His voice comforted her, and for a moment, she believed him.

* * *

"Here we are."

Scott's voice snapped Rose out of her memory and she looked up. There was a black gate and a sign that read '**XAVIER'S SCHOOL FOR GIFTED YOUNGSTERS**'. "Oh my God." She whispered in awe. The school was massive and elegant, surrounded by greenery that she wasn't used to seeing in the city.

Scott smiled at her as they pulled into one of many garages. "Quite the sight, isn't it?"

Rose's eyes continued to roam her surroundings and nodded. "It's beautiful."

_"Welcome, Rose." _

She flinched as the voice intruded her thoughts. It had been a couple days since she heard the voice and she was merely startled. Her phone vibrated and she saw Pepper's name flash on her screen. For a moment, she debated sending it to voice mail but she bit her lip when she realized that Pepper was actually making an effort in getting to know her. Hadn't that been what she wanted all along? She sighed annoyed at her wishy-washy tenancies and answered the phone. "Hey, Pepper."

"Oh! You answered!" The shocked voice of her sister responded, making Rose feel guilty. "I... I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. Thanks." She replied shortly, before pushing her pride aside and going on with more warmth. "I um... I'm actually out of the city. I decided to go to a school, I guess. To help with... well, my whatever it is. "

"Oh. I- Well- That's great." Pepper said, her voice carrying a slight tone of curiosity. "Where is it?"

"It's still in New York. Just over an hour from the city." Rose looked to her left to see Scott patiently waiting for her to continue on. "I actually just got here and I'm supposed to meet the Professor. Can I call you back later?"

"Yes, absolutely. I'll be waiting for your call." Before she hung up, Pepper quickly added, "And Rose? Thank you for answering."

"Uh, yeah. You're welcome, Pepper." Rose hung up and quickly put her phone away while looking at Scott. "Sorry, um just my sister."

"You must be grateful to have family that worries about you." He told her with a genuine smile.

Rose thought about it and he was right. She was grateful for Pepper and she gave a small smile at the thought. "Yeah, I am."

"Come on. The Professor is waiting for you."

Rose gave one look over her shoulder, past the open garage and down the winding road. This was it. There was no turning back now. She lifted her bag up and breathed in deeply. "Okay, let's do this."

The next chapter of her life had begun.

_fin_

_There will be a sequel. Just be forewarned, it will not be about the X-Men. Professor Xavier does play a part obviously, but the story will not be about the X-Men, or centered around it. We will be seeing more of Pepper, Tony and definitely more Peter. It should be up soon and I thank those of you who read this story. I hope you enjoyed it! :) _


	27. Chapter 27

Hello, friends! This story is complete and I want to thank all of you who read it! The sequel is already out but I will only be updating it on

Look for my username Lurker128 / www . wattpad user / lurker128

Thank you, my loves!


	28. Chapter 28

Hey guys! It's been a long time since I posted this story, and I've recently gone through it and found it littered with errors. As of 02/25/16, I'm working my way through it to touch it up. Just a few corrections and tweaks here and there. Hopefully, if you give it another read, you'll continue to enjoy it!

Also, the sequel is now posted here on FFNET. Thank you all! XOXO


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